Our Fight For Our Life
by Nix1978
Summary: Post Season 7 fic. Emily is in London and something is wrong... Derek knows it. Can they work their way through it?
1. Chapter 1

She sat and stared at her phone at the text message from him;

_You free for skype? Haven't spoke in a while. They're working you too hard ;) Dx_

She'd been staring at it for half hour, mustering up the guts to press the reply button with her shaky finger. Of course she was free for Skype. She'd been free for the past two days but kept fobbing him off;

_I'm snowed under at work. Hope you're ok. Ex_

_I'm on the tube. I'll call you later. Ex_

_Just out shopping. I'm sorry. Ex_

She couldn't keep this up. This wasn't fair.

She hit the reply button and typed out the message…. _Hi. Yeah I'm free. I'll just log on. Ex_

She opened the laptop and powered it up, glancing at the stick that lay to the side of the machine. She stared at it as if it was going to do something spectacular as she waited for the screen to pop up.

As the rings sounded, she shifted nervously in her seat until his familiar, smiling face appeared.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hey stranger." He winked.

"Yeah…" She began, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, "… I'm sorry. It's just been so busy."

"It's alright.…" He assured, "….. I get that being the boss in a new place is tough. You've got a lot to catch up on."

"Yeah."

"So how have you been?"

"Good..." She lied, rubbing the base of her nose with one finger, "… How about you?"

The pretence was pointless; Her fidgets may as well have been screams. He'd already spotted it…. She could see it in the frown he was trying to hide and feel it in the short, but obvious pause, before answering her.

"I've been fine. We haven't had a case for a couple of days, so I finally got to work on that property in Hadlington."

"That's great. How's it coming along?" She continued to attempt the façade.

But he paused again, looking at her inquisitively whilst she scratched her head and looked at an invisible spot on the wall ahead of her as she tried to avert his gaze.

"Emily…." He murmured.

She looked back to him, "What?" Her voice was meek.

"What's going on?"

She shook her head only slightly, but quick, "Nothing."

He exhaled heavily, "Emily, don't lie to me. Something's wrong."

She glanced back at the stick on the desk. The stick that was there because of just one night….

_He insisted on getting a cab with her to make sure she got home ok, but they both knew that it was only to prolong their time together after she had finally admitted she wanted to leave the team. She didn't argue. Just like her inviting him up for coffee and him accepting was extending their night and after the coffee he said he should leave, but she prolonged it further by offering him another cup….. A cup that was never made. _

_As he made love to her, she held on tight to him, just as she had at the wedding that night, afraid to let go. Six years of love, friendship, affection, angst, anger and frustration poured out of them both that night. In the morning, they lay in her bed, both wide awake but remaining as still as possible, neither wanting to admit to being awake so they would have to move and leave each other's arms. When they finally did, they used more time up with breakfast and small talk, but when he finally walked out of the front door, she leant her back against it and slid down, tears streaming down her face…. Out of fear…. Out of loss…. Out of love._

_After that it all happened so quickly; Within two weeks she was on a plane to London leaving behind the only real family she had, bound for a new life with new friends, new colleagues, a new city, a new country, a new continent…. What was she doing?_

_But after a few weeks she was just getting to grips with her new job, getting to know a little of her new city, making a few new friends. She was just settling in….. Just…. When she sat in her bathroom on the edge of the bathtub staring at the stick…. The stick with two lines. She read the box over and over again, but no matter how many times she read it, it did not change the fact that two lines meant she was pregnant….Pregnant!_

She looked back to him and shook her head again and saw the confusion build in his stare.

"Emily, I know you've been avoiding me. Can you tell me what it is or what I've done?"

"You haven't done anything." She was quick to respond.

He glanced downwards in contemplation and then looked back up to her, "Look, I know we haven't talked about what happened before you left and if you want to…."

"No…" She interrupted, "…It's not that. Well….." She paused, "…. Not really."

"Not really?"

He watched as her eyes widened and he saw her swallow… it looked like guilt.

"Em, if there's something you need to tell me…."

She looked in surprise…. Had he figured it out? But before she could answer he continued.

"Have you met someone over there?"

Boom! Where did that come from? He was as surprised at himself as she was….

She remained silent but shook her head slowly and he felt the pounding in his chest begin to subdue in relief.

He waited for her to speak, but still nothing came. She just looked at something away from the screen.

"Emily…" His voice was deeper and more firm, "… Can you please tell me what's wrong?"

"It doesn't feel right doing it like this." She muttered, him barely able to hear her.

The pounding in his chest returned, "Just tell me." He insisted.

Swallowing hard she shifted in her seat and then stared him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry Derek. I didn't want to tell you this way…."

"It's ok.." His voice softened, "….Whatever it is, I…."

"I'm pregnant." She interrupted.

His dark eyes widened and his mouth fell open as if he were about to say something, but nothing came out.

"If you want to call me back…" She said hastily, knowing that his world was exploding, just as hers did a few days ago.

"No…." He was quick to respond, "...I don't want to go anywhere. When did you find out?" He asked.

"A couple of days ago." She said sheepishly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" His tone was sad, not accusatory.

"There's no reason Derek…." She said softly, "….other than me freaking out and needing to let it sink in."

She saw the smallest of smiles creep across his lips at her honesty.

"Ok…" He muttered, "…I understand. So what happens now?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

"You are coming home though right?" He said as if there was no other option to consider.

Her mouth fell open and she just stared, him knowing her answer right away.

He shook his head, "Emily. You have to come home."

"Derek it's not that simple, I have a contract and…"

"Well break it. You can't stay there on your own."

"I made a commitment to Clyde."

"I don't care about Easter."

"Derek…." She attempted to reason.  
"No Emily. That's _my_ baby and I want to be there." His words became sharp and impatient.

She frowned at him and felt that wall of defence begin to descend, "You can't tell me what to do Derek. We're not together and…"

She stopped, seeing his face change as though she'd just delivered the biggest kick in the guts.

Her face softened and she reminded herself of the huge news she had just given him, "I'm sorry Derek, I didn't mean that. I just…"

He stared at her intently, "No I'm sorry…." He said, "…. I shouldn't have been so pushy. It's just a shock….. But I meant what I said. I want to be there. It's my baby too."

"I know you do…" She assured, "….And I want you there, but this is really complicated."

"I know…" He muttered before standing up.

She watched as he paced the room, remaining silent to give him a little space and thinking time. Eventually he returned to the screen and leant down, both hands resting on the desk, "I'm coming over." He stated.

"What?"

"I'm coming over. We have to talk about this."

"I know but…"

"Don't you want me to come?" He interrupted.

"Of course I do."

"Ok, so I'll book a flight as soon as I've ok'd it with Hotch."

She nodded with a small, almost grateful smile, "Ok." She whispered.

~~CM~~

Two days later she stood nervously, staring at the arrivals gate, scanning the hoards of people flowing through. His plane had landed twenty minutes ago and the churning in her stomach was getting more severe with every passing minute.

He spotted her before she spotted him and he was pacing towards her with a big smile, a holdall hung over one shoulder and a brown paper bag in his hand, when she made eye contact.

When he reached her, he leaned in and kissed her cheek softly as she wrapped one arm around his neck, nuzzling in close and taking a deep breath, inhaling his scent, as if needing to be sure he was really there.

"I'm so glad you're here." She whispered into him.

He pulled away from her and held one hand to her cheek gently, "You have no idea how good it is to see you." He muttered.

She smiled warmly and then watched as he reached into the paper bag he held and pulled out a light brown teddy bear with a single silk red rose in its hands.

"This is for you by the way, not for…" He said, holding the cuddly toy out to her and nodding towards her tummy, ".…I wanted to get you flowers, but they would have died on the flight."

She laughed lightly accepting the soft bear, "Thank you…. He's cute." She said holding him up, noticing the head was cocked to one side and it's right eye was winking.

She kept hold of the bear in one hand and slipped her other around his arm, "Come on. Let's get a cab. You must be exhausted and hungry."

"Hungry… Yes. Exhausted… No. I slept on the plane." He lied, not wanting any reason for either of them to avoid the talk they needed so desperately to have.

~~CM~~

As they pulled up in the black cab alongside the apartment buildings on the Wharf, Morgan looked up at the tall, glass covered building in amazement, "You live here?" He asked with some disbelief.

"Yep…" She chuckled, "…. Interpol has good taste right?"

"And a lot of money. A place in the centre of London, overlooking the Thames. That must cost a small fortune."

"I'm sure it does…" She shrugged, "….They just want you near to the office so they can get you whenever they want."

"You're not impressed?" He asked with a smile.

"Don't get me wrong, it's a nice place, but…"

"You prefer older buildings right? With a bit of character." He guessed.

"Yep." She smiled before paying the driver and opening the cab door.

~~CM~~

"You need some more stuff in here." Morgan said, dropping his bag as he walked in through the front door, eyeing the minimalist room.

"I know…." She sighed, "…I just haven't got round to it."

"I'll…." He stopped, realising he did not want to make any offer of helping her to make the place more homely…. And she read him like a book.

Ignoring his obvious awkwardness, she walked towards the kitchen, "Do you want to grab a shower or something while I make us some food?"

"Yeah that would be good."

A couple of hours later, they were sat on her sofa having eaten the chicken casserole she had prepared earlier that day. They managed to exhaust the small talk, only because they really were not interested in it and were both entirely distracted by the reason he was there.

"Do you want another drink?" She asked, beginning to stand as the first uncomfortable silence bore down on them.

"No…" He said, grabbing for her wrist, encouraging her to sit back down, "… Come on. You know we need to talk about this." He said gently.

As she sat, she saw him glance at her tummy and she instinctively placed one hand upon it. He smiled as he caught her eye and slowly raised one hand towards her, awaiting her permission. It came in the form of a small nod and warm smile.

He placed his big hand on top of hers and squeezed, rubbing his thumb upon her skin. She pulled her hand from underneath his and pressed his down so his palm was flat against her tummy. Of course there was nothing to feel yet…. Nothing to see, but at that moment they both knew they had created something amazing together…. Something special.

"So what do we do Emily?" He asked.

She shook her head looking lost, "I don't know."

"You can't seriously be thinking of staying here."

"My contract Derek…" She told him.

"You really think Easter would stop you leaving in these circumstances?"

She chuckled, "Clyde would tell me to take a cell phone and a fax whilst I was in the hospital giving birth if he could."

Derek shook his head, "He's such a jerk."

"He's not…" She began with a roll of the eyes. Morgan was never going to give the guy a break, "…. He just doesn't think of stuff like this as being important."

"How much notice do you have to give?"

"Three months."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Nope."

"Look…" He said, moving around to face her straight on, "…I wanna be there through all this. The doctor's appointments, the scans, the weird cravings, even the mood swings…." He chuckled as he earned a smile from her, "...We're gonna have a baby Emily. This is _our_ baby…. I just…"

But he stopped mid sentence and pulled his head back as if trying to get a better view of her face. His brow dipped and he swallowed hard as she pulled away from him slightly and he took in the expression that suddenly fell upon her face at his last words.

She looked petrified and it him like a truck…. He couldn't bear to look at the fear.

He stood up and walked to the window with her confused eyes following him.

"What's the matter?" She asked as he placed one hand against the wall, letting it take his weight.

She watched his body rise as he inhaled deeply, but remained silent.

Standing up, she tentatively took a couple of steps towards him, but left a distance between them.

"Derek…?" She said softly, "….What's wrong?"

He shook his head slowly and lifted his head to look out on to the sun drenched river, boats floating at a snails pace looking so peaceful.

"I had no idea." He muttered.

"No idea about what?"

"You felt that way."

"Derek, you're not making any sense. Felt what way?"

He turned and she saw a pain in his eyes and his face looked as if it were about to break.

"What?" She breathed.

"That you were scared to be with me…." He uttered, the words breaking, "…. To have my baby. It's me isn't it?"

Her eyes widened…. He had hit a nerve. His words _had_ frightened her. It was why she didn't tell him right away.

Her dark orbs bore into him and a solitary tear began to run down her cheek…. She didn't even notice.

"I'm sorry I pushed you Emily, if I'd of known, I wouldn't of…."

He halted as she shook her head, not taking her eyes off him, "I'm not scared of having _your_ baby. I'm….." She paused, her breaths a little heavier and more tears falling upon her ivory skin, "… I'm scared of having _a_ baby."

They both stood still feeling a heavy weight bear down on them both. His breathing rhythm was soon in time with hers as he felt a mix of guilt and panic, suddenly realising he had no idea how to handle this. So he did the only thing that felt right at that moment…. He closed the gap between them and took her small frame in his arms, squeezing her tight as her moistened cheek rested against his chest.

"What are you scared of?" He whispered.

He strained to listen to her muffled words; "I'm scared I'm too old to have this baby and something will go wrong….. I'm scared that when I do have it I won't know what to do and I'll screw it up…. I'm scared about doing this on my own…. I'm scared that…" She felt him hold her tighter with every word, "…..I'm just scared."

He held her until he felt her heart beat begin to calm and then gently pulled out of his hold on her and took hold of both her hands, guiding her back over to the sofa.

As they sat, he shifted his body so he was facing her, keeping his grip on her.

"Listen to me…." He began, his voice certain and his eyes locked on hers, "…. Whatever happens, _you are not alone_. We can make this work."

She looked at him with sad eyes.

"What?" He asked softly.

"Derek, you're a good man, but you shouldn't do this just because of the baby."

"You think that's the only reason I'm here?"

"Isn't it?"

"No… Emily, I can't believe you think that."

"But, we had our chance before I left, and well…." She looked down, "…. Well I'm here."

"You think I wanted you to come here? That I was happy about it….?" He asked, using a solitary finger to guide her face back up to look at him, "…. You're kidding right? I didn't want you to leave. You have to know that."

"You didn't fight for me to stay." She uttered in a weak voice, but as a matter of fact.

She felt a flash of disappointment immediately as his grip on one hand disappeared and she watched as he rubbed his forehead hard as if trying to rid it of a searing pain.

"Derek?"

He dropped his hand and let his gaze fall on her once again, looking at her with a seriousness she hadn't seen in a long while, "I didn't know what to do Emily; I could have begged you to stay…. But what if you did and then you resented me? I knew you were lost. I knew you needed to do something to figure stuff out. And all I could was pray that you'd do that and then come home…. That's the truth…." He took a heavy breath as he thought, "…..May be I am guilty of not fighting for you as I should of, but everything I did was because I love you and I want you to be happy. If London was what it took then that's how it had to be."

She let her gaze fall downward and collected his hand back into hers, "I guess I'm just as guilty for not fighting for us. I just wasn't sure you felt the same, so I did what I always do… Took the easy option and ran away."

The slightest of chuckles fell from the back of his throat, "Emily, I don't think you ever take the easy option…" He smiled and gave the smallest of winks, "..Come here." He whispered, opening up his arms.

She shuffled over and tucked her body into his, as his arms enveloped her once again

"Em, I can't guarantee everything will be ok with this baby, but I can promise you I will be there every step of the way."

"That's pretty difficult with four thousand miles between us."

"Three thousand, three hundred…."

"…and sixty three." She finished, looking up at him with a small smile.

"Yeah…" He uttered, "….We've got some figuring out to do."

**A few people asked me to do a baby fic… This popped into my head today… Is it something you would like to see continue? See how they muddle their way through this… I have no idea how they will yet though ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the reviews, favourites and follows… always appreciated. Hope the second chapter is worthy…. (BTW there is one 'F' word in this, but I haven't changed the rating for it... just to warn)**

"_We've got some figuring out to do…"_

After laying against him in silence as the last sentence whirled and whirled around her head, she decided to give up on figuring it out bit for now and took hold of his hand that was resting lightly on her tummy.

"So, with all of this I never asked how long you're staying for." She said, tracing one finger on the back of his hand, just to make sure he really was there and this really was happening.

"I can stay for up to a week."

She lifted her head, looking at him quizzically, "What do you mean, _you can stay_?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly invited was I?" He answered with one brow raised.

She gave a him a big smile and leant her head to one side, "Derek…" She started, grasping her fingers around the back of his hand, "… you're always invited. You know that. It's a given."

His face was then consumed with a big grin, "Ok, well you've got me for a week then."

"Good. But you do get that I've got to work though?" It was almost a sigh.

"Of course."

"But this is where being the boss comes in handy. I will try and finish early most days and may be work from home for a couple. We can do some stuff I'm sure."

"Em, don't worry about it. I know you're busy, but there is just one thing I want to do while I'm here."

She looked at him, a smirk forming upon her lips, "You want to go and see the Queen don't you? I hear she's free this week for tea and scones."

He chuckled, "Sounds a bit too wild for me."

"Ok Mr Sensible, what do you wanna do?"

"Take _you_ out on a date." He said squeezing her a little more into him.

She laughed and shook her head.

"What?" He asked with a smirk.

"You want to take the woman carrying your child out for our first date….."

"Well when you say it like that it sounds all kind of wrong."

"I was only joking Derek." She said as she saw the smile drain from his face.

"What?" She asked softly.

"I don't want you to say yes just because you're carrying my baby. I want you to say yes _despite_ of the baby."

She shifted her body round to face him head on, "Yes…" She said firmly.

He replied with a small, contemplative smile, "I should have done this a long time ago shouldn't I?"

"No…." She shook her head, "…There would have been some other drama, some other complication. This is just….." She paused in thought and shook her head, "….I'm not sure what this is actually, but I know I like it."

"Ok.." He conceded, "….tomorrow night then. But there's one rule."

"Rule?" She asked suspiciously.

"We're not talking about the baby or…." He said wiggling his forefinger in between them. "….the small issue of four thousand miles between us, until after the date."

Smiling, she lay back against him, "Ok… it's a deal." She uttered. She closed her eyes, the underlying anxious feeling she'd had for the past few days beginning to disappear. She knew it would only last a short while, but she would enjoy it… and him just being there, whilst she could.

~~CM~~

The following morning, she kissed the back of his head gently as he lay in her bed, covered up to his waist with her duvet. He had of course done the chivalrous thing and said he would sleep in the spare room and her head had told her to go with that option… '_don't rush it Emily', _the nagging voice chirped away. But after an awkward silence and both breaking into a smile at the same time, laughing at their ridiculous topsy turvey situation, she concluded that she wanted him nowhere but with her….. _She was pregnant by him…. Carrying his child. _

However, nothing happened that night, mainly due to emotional and physical exhaustion, but one thing about being in London in November, was that it was much cooler at night, the perfect weather to get yourself tucked under a feathered duvet, and snuggle up to Derek Morgan, which is exactly what happened.

She looked down upon him and smiled; He was flat out having spent most of the night awake due to the jetlag. He'd remained perfectly still the night before as she lay in his arms, pretending to be asleep so she wouldn't feel obliged to stay awake with him, but he didn't fool her; they both knew that. She occasionally shifted just a little, allowing her hand to trace along his skin and he responded with a squeeze, caress or a stroke and a few kisses…. That's all she needed right now.

Her kiss didn't wake him as she left for work and once there, she found herself delegating far more efficiently than she ever had since she'd been there. She ordered in her PA, Melinda, her favourite Caramel Macchiato and donut apple fritter from Starbucks as encouragement and reward for working through her lunch break to rearrange as many meetings as possible for the coming week.

That day, Derek had spent his little time awake before she got home, browsing the net to find and book a restaurant…..

"So, marks out of ten for the date?" He asked with a cheeky smile as the waiter cleared the last of the plates of their table.

"It would have been a ten if I could have had a glass of that Cabernet Sauvignon that was on the menu."

She watched as his bottom lip formed a mock pout, "What? You would have enjoyed it far more if you'd of been drunk?"

"No…" She laughed, "… But your face when you saw the bill would have been priceless."

"Oh I forgot the circles you're used to socialising in. I'm gonna have to raise my game." He winked.

Her laugh simmered to a warm smile as she leant across the table just a little, "Do you know what…? She said, lowering her tone, "….I would have been happy with a DVD, bag of chips and a can of Coke…"

"Diet Coke…" He corrected, "… I remember the look you gave me the first and only time I ever bought you proper Coke. Gees, it scarred me for life." He chuckled placing a hand to his chest.

"Very funny…. And there was me trying to be romantic."

"Romantic eh…?" He smiled, "….. Don't let _me_ stop you."

"No…" She said shaking her head with a smirk, "…You ruined the moment. I guess this is where the romance ends."

"Well, it's not quite over yet." He said, placing his credit card in the small brown leather folder containing the bill.

She rummaged in her handbag and pulled out her purse, "It's not?" She asked, looking back up to him.

"No…." He muttered with a frown, "…And what are you doing?"

"Paying half." She said as a matter of fact.

"Oh no you're not…" He told her, reaching over for her purse, "…. I said I was taking you out on a date. I pay."

He placed the small, red leather purse, that he had swiped from her grasp, inside his jacket.

She leaned in further, "But this place is really expensive, even without the wine." She whispered.

"Yeah…" He replied, mirroring her movement and grasping the top of her hand as it lay on the table, "…. And I chose it."

She smiled, pressing her red lips together, "Well thank you. This place is lovely and I really have had a great time, but I'm telling you, you don't need big gestures to impress me…. I'm just happy with you."

"Ok…. Diet coke and chips? I'll remember that for next time." He winked.

"Although…." She began, tracing the top of her glass with a finger, "…. I won't complain if we do this every now and again."

He shook his head with a mock roll of the eyes, "Women…. Always changing their minds."

He chuckled as he watched that look of venom that was now piercing into him from her eyes, "C'mon…" He said standing up and offering a hand after the waited returned his card, "… We're not done yet."

"Oh, this better be good buddy after that last comment." She teased, accepting his offer and following him out of the restaurant.

Holding her hand, he led her alongside the Thames River, her leaning into him to attempt to take in some of his body heat as the cold breeze from the surface of the water blew against their skin.

"Well here we are." He almost sang, stopping their stride and turning to face across the river.

"What?" She asked looking around,

"Up there."

He pointed towards the sky.

"The London Eye?" She queried with a raise of the brow.

"Yeah…" He breathed, the frosty air exhaling from his mouth, "… You haven't been already have you?"

"No…." She smiled.

"Good… I'm sure there's not many places you haven't been. It's gonna be tough finding them."

"Derek…" She sighed, taking a laboured breath and stepping closer to him, grasping his free hand with hers. "…It doesn't matter where I've been or what I've done. I can tell you that experiencing anything or anywhere, whether I've been there, done that or not, will be a whole other experience with you…... and…"

Her words were cut short as his lips connected with hers. He couldn't help himself. The subtle smile on her lips, the sparkle in her dark eyes and the warmth in her words just made him feel as though there was nothing else to do at that moment.

And he knew he was right as she melted into the kiss and her hands wondered under his jacket and came to rest against the fabric of his shirt at the base of his back.

"See…" She uttered, pulling away just slightly, "…I've never felt like that stood in the middle of London on a cold frosty evening."

"Good. I plan on a lot more firsts…."

His features broadened into a grin, "C'mon, our slot is in five minutes."

They had made straight for the front of the queue, thanks to the special tickets he'd bought earlier and entered the vessel that would be theirs for the next thirty minutes.

As they slowly made their ascent, the glass pod that surrounded them was silent but for the occasional muffled comment from the older couple sat on the opposite side.

Derek and Emily both looked out on to the dark city, littered with an array of different coloured lights, seemingly going on forever and ever into the distance. They knew it was still buzzing with people drinking, laughing, eating, shouting, dancing; yet where they stood was it was all so peaceful, the noise completely buffered out by the thick glass.….

"My god it's beautiful" She uttered in honest amazement.

Her smile widened as she felt his hands snake around her waist and his chest press hard against her back.

"_You're _beautiful." He whispered as he placed a gently, warm kiss to her neck.

They remained in silence as the pod crawled on its upward journey and they spied all the beautifully lit sights… the bridges, the buildings, the tiny cars creating a long line of ant like lights jittering their way across the city.

They were nearly ten minutes in to the ride when she suddenly swallowed feeling her stomach churn. She let a long, steady breath out in an attempt to subdue the feeling and gripped hold of Morgan's hands, that were lay dormant on her tummy, a little tighter and he responded by pulling her in closer to him... He hadn't noticed though. This was perfect and she didn't want to ruin it.

A couple of minutes later, although she couldn't see it, she knew the colour had drained from her face. She was alternating between holding her breath and almost panting, trying desperately to quell the feeling, but eventually her reflexes kicked in and she gagged.

"What's the matter?" Morgan asked, concerned as she released his grip and held one hand tight over her mouth.

She shook her head quickly, "Nothing. I'll be ok." But she gagged again.

He looked at her, a mix of worry and confusion.

"Emily, you don't look ok. Sit down." He told her, as he guided her to the small bench and sat next to her, keeping grip of one hand.

One half of the older couple, who had sat unassumingly throughout their trip, came over to them, tiptoeing as if trying not to scare them on her approach.

"Are you ok dear?" The white haired woman said with a sweet, caring voice.

"I just feel a bit sick." Emily replied.

The woman smiled knowingly, "How far gone are you?

Emily looked at her with some surprise, "Just ten weeks. How did you know?"

"Us mothers have a sixth sense about these things…"

Morgan raised his brow having assumed it was just something Emily had eaten.

"…Not to mention you looked like you were blooming whilst we waited to board… those rosy cheeks…" She said pointing to where those rosy cheeks once were, "…. and not to mention the way this gentlemen here touches your tummy." She continued with a chuckle.

"That obvious is it?" Emily mumbled with a painful smile in between long breaths, a little embarrassed,

"I thought you were supposed to get _morning_ sickness in the _morning_." Morgan stated, looking at his watch, "….it's nearly midnight. Are you sure it's not something she ate?"

"Oh no dear, sickness can hit anytime", She told him, sitting the other side of Emily, as she tussled around in her handbag. "Here…." She said offering a packet of mints, "I found peppermint helped when I was pregnant with mine. We've got 20 minutes left yet so you need to try and ride it out."

"I don't know if I'll make it." Emily stuttered, the colour draining further from her cheeks.

The older woman reached round and began rubbing the brunette's back, "Just breathe dear; Long hard breaths... And lean forward just a little." She instructed with a light push on her shoulder.

Emily closed her eyes, as the women's touch soothed her just a little.

The woman glanced over to a bewildered looking Morgan and signalled for him to take over with a reassuring nod and a smile.

"Now concentrate on your breathing and nothing else, ok?" The white haired woman told her.

"Thank you", Emily muttered in between hardened exhales.

"Will this be your first?" The woman asked Morgan, as he continued tenderly rubbing circles with his palm on Emily's back.

"Yeah", He breathed, with a smile full of nerves.

"Scary stuff eh?" The woman's husband said, as he joined them, winking at Morgan.

"Oh don't be silly Harry." She scolded, glancing up to her husband and then back down to Derek and Emily, "They'll be fine…. As long as they have each other."

Emily immediately turned to face Morgan, a look of apology in her eyes and he tried to force a smile back as they both were bought back to their reality with a big crash. The romance of the evening slowly leaving for the distance.

"You're going to make a beautiful looking family." The woman continued pulling them out of the moment.

"Thanks..." Morgan began, "….As long as he or she looks like this one…" He said pulling Emily a little closer to him, "….There's no doubt about it."

The corners of Emily's mouth upturned genuinely and her gaze on him softened until she felt the woman's warm hand rest upon her wrist, "Feeling a little better now?"

"Yes I am. Thank you so much for your help."

The woman smiled and leaned in a little closer, "He's a gem dear", She whispered, nodding towards Morgan, "...I bet it's good having him around."

Emily could only manage a small smile, trying to hide her sadness at those words and without looking back to him, she knew he felt it to as his full lips connected with her forehead, placing a warm, comforting kiss upon her skin.

As the couple walked back to the other side of the pod, Emily just leaned back, nestling into his chest as the sick feeling began to subdue. She held his hands tight to her tummy and took in his touch as much as she could after being reminded so harshly that soon it would be gone again.

She felt his chin rest upon her shoulder and his breath dance upon the skin on her neck, "You feelin ok?" He whispered

"Yeah…." She lied.

~~CM~~

"What you doing?" She asked as Morgan stepped out into the road, his arm in the air.

"Getting a cab to get us home."

"I'd rather walk." She told him.

"Sure…" He agreed, returning to her on the pavement, "…I just thought with you not feeling very well…."

"I think the fresh air will do me good. It's only twenty minutes from here."

"Ok." He said, taking her hand in his once again and beginning the cold, yet refreshing walk back the way they had come.

"What's up?" Emily asked after a few minutes of silence.

She watched as his chest rose, taking a heavy breath.

"Derek?"

He suddenly stopped walking and turned to face her, "I don't want you to be alone." He said abruptly, a pleading tone to his voice.

She looked downward to avert his gaze, "I thought you said we weren't going to talk about this? Your rule, remember?"

"Well what just happened changed that."

"It was nothing. I only felt sick Derek." She nervously chuckled, meeting his stare once again.

"I don't care. I wanna be there for it all." He insisted.

He watched as she shook her head and turned away once again, "I can't…" She uttered.

"Look at me Emily…." He said firmly, wanting to read her eyes as he asked her the next question, "….Is this because of us? Are you not sure about us?"

She did as he said and looked him dead on, "No…" She shook her head firmly, "…Do you really think that after tonight?" She said, and he wasn't sure if there was a hint of anger in her voice.

"So why can't you just come home then? Make this easy."

She scoffed sarcastically, "Easy for who?"

"All of us." He whispered… and she didn't miss his momentary glance down towards her tummy, and the pleading in his darks eyes now staring back at her made the guilt flow through her.

Signalling for him to follow, she sat down on a dark green iron bench and turned her body so she was facing him.

"Listen, I can't just leave Derek. I have some real big operations going on, one in particular, that I can't just abandon."

"So hand them over." He said with a frustrated shrug.

"It would take me nearly as long to get someone up to speed and get them the necessary authorities, than the jobs would take themselves."

With a shake of his head, Derek rolled his eyes, "Is that the only thing? I mean, once they're done, you want to come home?"

She nodded.

"So how long are we talking?"

"A few months."

"A few months…?" He sighed and rubbed his eyes as if pained, "…Ok Em. But I really don't like it."

"Look, it's really early days. I haven't even had my first scan yet. Hopefully by the time I start waddling around and can't touch my feet anymore, I'll be back…. And you can have feet cleaning duty."

He chuckled and scrunched his nose at the same time.

"All part of the deal pal." She smiled.

"Ok. I'll wash your feet, but you really promise you're coming home?"

"I promise."

~~CM~~

Two weeks later and it felt like forever. Derek sat at his desk, his brow furrowed deeper than it had been for a long time; lines dented across his forehead.

He hit redial for the twenty something time that day and cursed under his breath as he heard her voice once again, '_Sorry, can't take your call right now. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you.'_

"I _have_ left messages Emily… Ten god damn messages." He spat to himself.

He wouldn't usually be so worried. Usually if she didn't answer, she was in a meeting or in the shower… there could be a whole host of reasons. But today was different. Today, he hadn't gotten his usual morning Facetime with her… He would always get up half an hour earlier than he should just to say good morning. If she was busy, she's drop him a text and call him when she got a break. But today… nothing.

He looked at his watch…. _14:36_. She should be home by now….

Redial…..

He breathed a sigh of relief as a click could be heard the other end and a quiet '_Hi', _made it's way to him.

"Emily thank god. I've been trying to call you all day."

"Sorry. I was…. Busy."

He paused. Her voice was different. Meek. Not her at all.

"Are you home?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Ok. Log in to Skype."

A few minutes later he smiled as he saw her face appear, but it was short lived as he saw a cold, drawn face looking back at him.

"Where were you? I've been trying to get hold of you all day."

"Work." She answered sheepishly.

He frowned…. She was lying. "No you weren't. I called there when I couldn't get hold of you. Riley said you called in to say you weren't going in today."

Her eyes changed… They widened, "You were checking up on me?"

"No…" He defended, "…. But I didn't hear anything from you this morning and…"

"What? You have to know where I am every second of the day?" She spat.

"Emily, if you hadn't forgotten, you _are_ pregnant with my child and…."

"It doesn't mean I'm suddenly your property, Derek." She interrupted.

He just looked at her, those wounded, searching eyes looking back at her… She couldn't take it so looked down. She grappled with herself, flipping between being angry with him for questioning her moves and being guilty for lying to him.

"Emily?" He muttered, only being able to see her auburn hair falling over her face as she slumped forward. He watched as her chest rose and fell heavily and began to speed up.

"Emily…" He repeated, "…. Please… I was just worried and now you're just making me worry even more…."

"I was at the hospital." She interrupted hastily, looking back up at him, her dark eyes big and sorry.

She saw the look of horror and panic fill his face.

"But everything's ok." She added quickly before he could speak.

"What happened?"

"I was bleeding. But it's alright. There's nothing wrong." She attempted to reassure.

She watched him, waiting for him to say something, but all he did was stare blankly at the screen, his chest rising heavily.

"I'm sorry Derek, I…."

He heard her words break as he stared at the blank spot on the desk in front of him. He wanted to shout at her…. He wanted to shout at her for lying. For not telling him as soon as something was wrong….. But he couldn't; the words were lost.

After he heard nothing else from her for a few seconds, he lifted his head slowly, and right then, at that moment, his heart broke in two. Her head was bowed, her long hair falling forward and framing her face, tears streaming down her cheeks at a rate of knots.

"Emily…" He muttered, reaching out and letting his fingers lightly touch the screen, his breath caught in his throat.

Her shoulders began to judder as she sobbed…..

"Baby, please look at me..." He pleaded.

But she didn't look up, trying in vain to hide her tears. Tears she did not want him to see. Tears that, in her mind, signalled failure... Failure to compose. Failure to hold it together. Failure to hide from him that she was weak. She needed him to believe she was strong enough to cope with this on her own.

"Emily..." He whispered a little more firmly, "... Look at me." He stressed.

She took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes tight and quickly wiped her tears away. As she raised her eyes to stare at him, he jolted seeing a coldness in her. The tears had stopped all of a sudden.

"Emily, everything is ok with the baby right?" He asked.

"You still think I'm lying to you?" Her tone was accusatory and hurt.

She watched him exhale a laboured breath as his shoulders slumped forward.

"Em..." He began in a soft, defeated tone, "... I don't know what to think. You're sat in front of me breaking and you won't talk to me. All I want to do is put my arms around you and hold you and to tell you everything's gonna be ok but…..."

"But you can't..." She interrupted.

"No, you're right, I can't, but if I was there with you, I could go through every second of this with you instead of being here, completely useless."

He stood up abruptly, "…. This fucking sucks!" He growled, the bang from the force of his boot kicking the desk causing her to jump, but he didn't see it. He just placed his hands on his hips and turned away from her, taking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

But a few seconds later his breaths suddenly stopped to allow himself to hear better….. Her soft voice.

"You're not useless..." She uttered.

"I damn well feel it." He assured, turning back round.

She stared at him. Her moistened eyes boring into him, plucking up the courage to say her next words… "Do you know why I just cried Derek?"

"No..." He said gently, shaking his head, "…. That's what I want you to tell me."

"When I woke up this morning and saw the blood, I froze…." She swallowed hard and then exhaled a long laboured breath before continuing, "…. I was petrified, because I thought exactly what I feared would happen, _was_ happening. I picked up my phone and dialled the only person I wanted to talk to..."

"Who?" He questioned as he sat down, his face creased up in hurt.

"You…" She emphasised, "….. You were the only person I wanted to call, but I cancelled before it connected."

"Why?"

"Because I knew this was exactly how you would feel. I didn't want to panic you for no reason or for you to think I couldn't cope…."

"But..."

"Let me finish..." She held a hand up, "…It's the reason I took a deep breath, got my stuff calmly and took a cab to the hospital without crying..." She began struggling with her words, "….. The same reason, that as I lay on that hospital bed, still bleeding and waiting for the Doctor I didn't cry. I didn't cry as they examined me. I didn't cry as I waited for the results….. I didn't cry even though that's all that I wanted to do… I just waited… I waited until I was sat in front of the one person who I wanted more than anything and that's when I allowed myself to cry and I hate myself for it, because I want to prove to you that I can cope."

He shook his head, "You don't have to prove anything to me. You just have to let me be there."

"I know…" She nodded, her face creasing as the tears began to drip slowly, "….I want you here. You make me feel safe. You always know what to say."

"Apart from today when I've acted like as ass." He scolded himself.

"You didn't act like an ass…." She told him, shaking her head, "…. You acted like a normal human being who was worried. Me on the other hand…" She shrugged, "…. wouldn't know what normal was if it jumped up and _bit_ me on the ass."

He couldn't help but smile gently seeing her childlike frustration as she remonstrated with herself and folded her arms across her waist.

"Emily…" He bargained, "… I'd love to know what normal is, because it sure as hell isn't either of us... Or this situation. But I know I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure we get through this."

She laughed lightly and the same time sniffling, "I believe you."

"Good..." He said gently, "…So what _did_ the Doctor say?"

"That it sometimes happens in pregnancy. Sometimes women bleed. But they checked everything and they said it all looks perfectly normal."

He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank god."

She smiled and then leant down to her bag, "I do have something for you though."

"You do? What?"

He watched as she slowly lifted what looked like a black, square piece of paper. As she moved it closer, he squinted and leant in, the white lines on it beginning to focus and a split second later, he realised what it was.

"This is your baby Derek…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you again for the reviews and follows. Sorry for the delay… I got caught up writing another fic…. Hope you enjoy this little titbit ;)**

_This is your baby Derek….._

A few weeks later she lay in bed on a cold December morning. She let her head fall to it's side, resting on the soft pillow and looked at the winter sun streaming through the large window. The branches of the oak tree outside obscured a little of the sun, and she smiled as the lone brown and white sparrow landed on one of the branches and began pecking away. She wondered if it were cold; If it had a warm nest to go back to…. Much like this warm nest she had right here. The large soft duvet lay in a heap on the floor at the side of the bed and a single sheet covered her up to her waist, despite the near freezing temperatures outside. The room was warm and toasty…. He had insisted.

As they walked in through the front door the night before after he had picked her up from Washington Dulles International Airport, the warmth hit her… a stark contrast from the frosty air outside. She fanned herself and he told her he'd had the heating on for the past twenty four hours to get the place warm just for her.

She turned as she heard the flushing sound coming from the en suite and watched him as he quickly tiptoed across the wooden floor. He jumped into bed, slinking under the sheet and snaking an arm under her waist, pulling her towards him and briefly kissing her temple.

"So, what do you fancy doing today then?" He whispered.

"Actually, I've got something planned for us." She sleepily smiled.

"You have?" He frowned curiously, "What is it?"

"It's a surprise."

He snuggled into her, "I like surprises." He whispered.

"Well I hope you'll like this one."

He eyed her suspiciously, "It's nothing to do with Garcia is it?"

"No." She chuckled, "Although, I do need to sort out seeing them all before I go back to London."

"Are we gonna tell them?"

"I think it's about time don't you? I'd rather tell them face to face. Besides, JJ and Pen will kill me if I keep this from them for much longer."

He smiled, "This is gonna be fun considering they don't even know we're together."

"You don't think they've guessed?"

He shrugged, "Don't know. Although Rossi does keep looking at me weird if your name is ever mentioned."

She nodded with a smirk, "He knows." She stated.

Chuckling, he nuzzled into her neck, "How about we just stay here all day?"

"Nope." She began, "Get changed." She said firmly, whipping the sheet back off of him.

But he didn't move a muscle; just stared at her and she smiled at his resolve to remain lay next to her, entirely unphased by the fact he was lying prone and completely naked.

His eyes bore into hers and she really couldn't help herself…. He laughed and grabbed hold of her, tickling her sides as he saw her glance down at his bare form.

"You just can't keep your eyes off me can you woman?" He winked playfully as he let his hands wonder down her body and under the sheets.

"Derek Morgan, you have no shame do you?" She chuckled as she squirmed under him from his fingers tickling her skin lightly.

"Nope." He mumbled as lips danced down her neck.

"Well…." She began, opening her neck to expose her flesh to him more, "….As much as I don't want to stop right now, we have to get up. We'll be late."

"For what?" He asked, lifting his head to look at her.

She raised her brow, "You'll see when we get there." She smiled, "…Now get up." She ended with a slap on his tight bare butt cheeks.

~~CM~~

He sat on the steel meshed seat tapping his foot incessantly, leant forward resting his elbows on his thighs.

She glanced at him and then down to his vibrating knee and back up again, "Will you calm down." She said with a smirk.

"I am calm." He frowned, looking back to her.

"Give me your hand."

"What?"

"Just give me your hand." She ordered, reaching over and grabbing his forearm, guiding his arm towards her. Sliding her fingers in between his, she looked at him with an 'I told you so' expression.

"Clammy hands….." She stated. "…. You always get clammy hands when you're nervous."

"I'm not nervous….. but this _is_ a big deal Emily." He muttered.

A big smile crept across her face, and she lifted his arm giving a tender, warm kiss to the back of his hand, "I know." She whispered.

A woman's voice stole both of their attention…. "Emily Prentiss?"

"Yes." The brunette said, standing, Morgan following suit.

"Come this way please." The smiling blond said, leading them along the long corridor.

A few minutes later, Emily gasped as the cold gel hit her skin for the first time earning a chuckle from Morgan. She squeezed his hand in protest, but she soon lost his attention as he slowly sat down next to her, his eyes glued to the screen in front of them.

She watched him with warm eyes, his mouth falling open as the grainy black and white picture appeared. He turned to face her and she smiled at his goofy grin.

"So, according to your notes, you're fifteen weeks gone Emily?" Nurse Bellingham asked, interrupting their moment.

"Yes." Emily nodded.

"So you've already had a regular scan?"

"I did. I had some bleeding and went to the hospital. They did one then."

"And everything was ok?"

"Yes."

"Good…" The nurse smiled turning to look at Derek, "…. It's difficult to make out much on those scans, eh?"

Derek looked to the woman and shook his head, "I wasn't there, but I got this. You can just about make it out." He said pulling out and unfolding the scan picture Emily had sent him.

Emily smiled at him and shook her head in warm realisation that the picture had probably not left his possession since the minute he got it.

"Well, I can tell you both, the scan we will do today is a very different type of scan."

"Different? What do you mean?" Derek asked glancing from Emily to the nurse.

"Did you not tell him?" The blond said, aimed towards Emily, who shook her head, lips pressed together.

"Emily has booked in for a 4D scan."

"4D?" He frowned

"It's basically a moving 3D image of your baby. We start off with the normal scan, which is the black and white one which is on the screen now and then we go to the other one."

Nurse Bellingham smiled as she watched more confusion spread across his face.

"It's probably better if I just show." She bargained, giving a little wink to Emily, "You both ready?"

"Yes." Emily said as Derek nodded, turning back to face the screen.

They both watched as the black and white image disappeared and a golden brown blob appeared. As the nurse moved the oversized marker pen like instrument over Emily's exposed tummy, Emily felt Derek squeeze her hand a little tighter;

"Is that a hand?" He asked as the five tiny fingers emerged and the smallest part of a forearm, "Oh my god that's a hand." He half laughed in amazement, glancing back to Emily who just looked at him with a smile. She couldn't remember seeing him this taken aback since the day she had appeared from the dead….

The image continued to go in and out of focus and after a couple of seconds Emily felt his hand leave her grasp as he began to stand very slowly as if trying to get closer to the screen without moving his feet.

Both hands clamped on his mouth as a tiny, squashed like face came into focus.

"Emily. Derek…" The nurse began, "…Meet your baby." She said gently, as she found the spot on Emily's stomach that revealed the whole of the baby.

"Oh my god. It looks so real." He uttered, the words muffled by his hands.

Emily chuckled, "That's because it is real Derek." She said softly, reaching over and gently stroking the back of his thigh.

He turned back to her, retaking hold of her hand and leant down, cupping her face in his hands, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, "Thank you." He whispered, then pulling away and looking her in the eyes.

"You're welcome." She uttered, "I hated the fact you weren't there the first time. I'm just gonna pretend that never happened."

"Me too."

He leant in again, gave her a quick peck on the lips and returned his excited gaze to the screen.

He squinted as the image bobbed around and cocked his head to the side.

"Kind of looks like an alien doesn't it?" Emily said, scrunching up her nose.

"Hey…" He protested, "…you calling our child an alien?"

She chuckled, "Yeah, with it's big head and skinny arms and legs…. But it is our alien." She sighed, winking as he looked at her.

"That's normal." The nurse interjected, "If you come for a scan at around twenty six weeks you won't believe how much it changes."

"We will." Derek stated, "So, is everything ok?"

"As far as I can see, perfectly normal." The blond reassured.

"Are you able to tell the sex yet?" He continued.

"Hang on." Emily said, tugging on his arm, "We didn't talk about that."

"I know." He assured, "I was just asking if it's possible."

"It should be." The nurse started, "It all depends on the position of the baby. But, it is definitely possible at this stage."

Derek looked at Emily with a raised brow.

"I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes to talk about it. You don't have to decide now though. You can come back another time."

"Thank you." Emily said, as the nurse walked out of the room.

Derek sat down, an excited child like grin on his face, "What do you think?" He asked expectantly.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't thought about it. Do you wanna know?"

"I don't know either." He gave a breathy nervous chuckle.

"Well she said we could decide another time."

He nodded, "Yeah. We'll think about it."

She paused in thought for a few seconds, staring at the blank screen, but then turning back to him, "What do you want?" She asked, her tone gentle.

"What do you mean?"

"Boy or a girl. What do you want?"

He stared at her, his dark eyes misty. She watched as a smile crept across his face and he shook his head, "Honestly….? I don't care Emily." He muttered, his tone low and soothing, "He or she will be perfect. I know it."

She smiled back, but he saw a quick flash of doubt in her eyes.

"What's the matter?" he asked, a crease appearing across his forehead.

"Nothing." She said, forcing a smile with a shake of the head.

He pulled his chair closer and took her hand closest to him in both of his, "Emily, are you still scared something will go wrong?"

"No, it's fine." She attempted to reassure, not wanting to ruin their happy day.

He leant forward and gently brushed his fingers through her dark hair, sweeping it back to the side of her head. "The nurse said everything looks normal." He said, placing a long, warm kiss to her cheek, "Everything's gonna be fine." He breathed into her skin.

She shifted her head around so her lips met his, "Thank you." She whispered, a smile forming.

"No." He murmured, "Thank _you_. You have no idea how happy you have made me."

She chuckled, "I don't know how happy you're gonna be when our little alien is crying, pooping and keeping you up all night long."

He raised his brow, "Will you stop calling it an alien." He scolded playfully.

"Well what do you want to call it then?"

He pursed his lips, in an attempt to subdue a smirk.

"What?" She asked.

"I kinda have been calling it something in my head already."

"You have?" She frowned.

"Yeah." He chuckled, "Smudge."

"Smudge?"

"Well it just looks like a big smudge on the picture you gave me."

"What? You've called it that since you got the picture?" She asked.

He nodded and then watched as she swallowed and her bottom lip begin to quiver as moisture formed in the corner of her big eyes that stared at him.

"What's the matter?" He asked with concern.

She shook her head quickly, "Nothing."

"Emily, what is it? You don't like the nickname?"

"No, I do like it." She nodded, taking a deep breath as a tear ran down her cheek.

"I don't understand." He said bewildered.

She shrugged, "It's just you had a name for our baby and didn't tell me."

He gazed at her with a big smile and chuckled, leaning over and enveloping his arms around her, "Come here." He whispered, squeezing her tight, "I should have told you."

She shook her head, "No. I'm being ridiculous. I don't know what's wrong with me." She sniffled into his chest.

"It's called hormones baby." He uttered into her hair.

"But I'm crying because you gave a nickname to a piece of paper and didn't tell me. I bet that's one thing you're glad you're not around for." She whimpered.

"Listen." He began, "Some guys would say I'm lucky to missing out on the hormones part but…." He said, pulling away to face her, "…I'm not. I wish I was there for it all. I really do."

"I know." She whispered, "Me too."

They both turned to the door as Nurse Bellingham entered, a warm smile painted on her face as she saw the couple.

"So. Have you decided?" She asked.

"Yeah." Derek started, standing upright, keeping hold onto one of Emily's hands, "We don't want to know."

"Ok." She said, "Well, I'll try not to give it away then when we carry on with the scan."

"Give it away?" Derek asked.

"Well sometimes it's obvious when it's a boy if you know what I mean."

Emily watched as a big grin formed on his face, "Well if it's a boy and it's mine, I'm sure it will be obvious."

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Gees Derek." She sighed, "I bet you've never heard that before have you?" Emily said tuning to the nurse who chuckled and placed some more cold gel on Emily's tummy.

They both sat in silence, their fingers entwined, taking in the images of their child, 'smudge', floating about on the screen.

_It all just became very very real…._

**That was short and fluffy, but I hope you like it :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much for the reviews as always….. Sorry I don't get chance to reply to everyone, but they are very very much appreciated and spur me on. Hope you like the next bit…. rather longer than the last ;)**

"So. Is everyone gonna be there?" Emily asked, a little shake in her voice.

Derek glanced over at her in the passenger seat as he drove to Rossi's, "You nervous?" He said in a deep tone, reaching one hand over and grabbing hers that was set in her lap.

"A little." She shrugged, "We're about to drop a pretty big bombshell Derek."

He smiled, "There's nothing to be nervous about though." He assured.

"I know. It's just feels like we'll be on show with everyone there. I don't like being the centre of attention."

"Well, I don't think you'll get away with that tonight." He winked, "It'll be fine. Just enjoy it." He squeezed her hand, "And you get to meet Reid's girlfriend."

"I know." She breathed excitedly, "I can't wait. I never thought I'd see the day."

"You and me both." He chuckled.

Derek and Emily were the last to arrive, Rossi greeting them at the front door and leading them into the hallway. He slipped Emily's jacket off her shoulders and hung it in the side closet.

"We've got about an hour before the food is ready. I got delayed. Sorry." The older profiler told them.

Morgan looked over Rossi's shoulder, spying Strauss busying herself in the huge kitchen and smirked, "Delayed eh?" He said with a suspicious raised brow.

Rossi eyed the younger agent and then turned to look at the Section Chief.

"So Strauss gets invites to team functions now does she?" Emily teased.

Rossi shrugged, "She was there when I asked everyone. I couldn't leave her out now could I?"

"Of course not." The brunette chuckled, sharing a momentary smile with Morgan.

"_Anyway_." Rossi emphasised, holding up the bottle he had in one hand and offering them both a glass, "I've got an eighteen year old single malt whisky… especially for you." He said nodding towards Emily.

He signalled for them both to lift their tumblers and poured a generous dose of the golden liquid. Emily's eyes widened as she glanced over at Morgan who shrugged.

"Now, everyone's in the sitting room if you want to go through. I'm off to help Erin in the kitchen." Rossi said with a raise of his thick eyebrows and a smirk before turning and walking away.

"I can't drink this." Emily whispered, leaning into Derek as Rossi disappeared.

"I know. It's ok, we'll just tell them." He said as a matter of fact.

"No. I'm not ready." She said firmly with a quick shake of the head.

His brow furrowed, "Not ready? So we're not going to tell them tonight?"

"No. We will." She told him, pouring her drink into his glass. "Just not yet. Later."

"But why?" He asked, as she placed one finger under his tumbler and pushed it up to his lips.

"Just because….. Now drink that." She hurried him.

"I can't. I'm driving." He said lowering the glass.

"I'll drive. Just drink!"

She guided the drink up to his mouth again and stood and watched him with a stern expectant expression until he gulped down most of the liquid.

"Ok, let's go." She ordered, grabbing his arm and leading him into the sitting room where the team waited.

JJ was the first to spot them, "Emily!" She almost squealed, jumping up and greeting her friend with a hug. She squeezed her tight and then pulled away, examining the brunette's face, "You look really good Emily. London is definitely agreeing with you."

"Hey, don't say that…" The familiar techie's voice called from behind the blond, playfully tapping JJ's arm, "…. We want her not to like London." She winked, before wrapping her arms around both of her friends.

"It's good to see you Pen." Emily beamed, as she pulled out of their embrace.

"My god. JJ's right. You're glowing." Garcia exclaimed.

The brunette chuckled shyly, and then turned, her attention drawn by Rossi entering the room, the same bottle of whisky in his grip.

"You enjoyed that eh?" He smiled, almost proud of himself, nodding down towards the empty glass she was holding.

"It's a good choice." She replied with a nod of the head.

"Ok. You better get a top up then." He said, holding the bottle out once again.

"Oh no. I'm fine." She shook her head and pulled the glass towards her.

Rossi grabbed for it though and continued to pour the liquid anyway, "I _know_ Emily Prentiss can take her drink. You have given me a run for my money plenty of times. Now enjoy yourself. You can get a cab."

"Yes Sir." She mocked with a chuckle, raising the glass to her mouth and allowing the liquid to just brush against her lips.

For the rest of the next hour, Rossi appeared to be following her around with the bottle, encouraging her, in amongst speaking to each of her old team mates, plus their dates, to finish up her drink so he could top it up. It was clear he missed their times they had shared over a glass or two.

After the third or fourth time of her pouring the drink into Derek's glass, he gave up arguing and did as she said. Truth be told it was going down too well, but far too quickly. Problem being, he hadn't drank like that in a long time and it was getting the better of him.

By the time they sat down to eat, he was hot, clammy and could feel his head swirling, having to concentrate hard to focus on events around him. His blurry attention was drawn to Rossi, who stood at the head of the table and sounded a fork against his wine glass.

"I'd like to propose a toast." He began, raising his drink, "Firstly to Beth who is off on her travels. Good luck, have fun and please come back soon or this one." He said gesturing towards Hotch, "Is going to be mr grouch."

A ripple of laughter flowed along the table as the Unit Chief turned and smiled to Beth, squeezing her hand under the table.

"Secondly." Rossi continued, "To our Emily. You have no idea how good it is to see you. You look more beautiful and happy than I remember and that means a lot to all of us. Just don't leave it too long before you come back again." He winked.

"Here here!" Morgan suddenly called out, throwing his arm in the air holding up his wine glass.

The group laughed at him and reciprocated with a chorus or 'here here's', resulting in a blushing Emily, who discreetly nudged Derek in the ribs.

"Hey." He mumbled to her, but ss Rossi continued with his toast, Garcia leaned into the dark profiler, "How much have you drunk Derek?" She whispered, as he swayed a little in his chair, but not so much that anyone else really noticed.

He frowned an exaggerated frown at the blond, "Not enough." He sarcastically smirked, taking another sip of his wine.

Emily then grabbed Derek's knee under the table causing him to turn to her, "What?" He whispered.

She glared at him and signalled towards the glass of water sat on the table in font of him, to which he just stared at deciding upon whether to do what she said, or ignore her… after all it was her who made her drink all that whisky in the first place.

"And lastly." Rossi continued, grabbing their attention once again, "To family. I'm so glad you could all make it tonight. Here's to many many more nights like this."

As he raised his glass, a chorus of clinks could be heard around the table and as he sat back down, Rossi let his gaze wander around the room as his friends settled down, wine and conversation flowing. Kevin and Garcia. JJ and Will. Beth and Hotch. Reid and his new girlfriend, Chloe and Erin sat at his side. The older profiler, contemplating, leaned back in his chair and spied the final two friends.

"So Morgan. Emily… when are you two going to grace us with a date?" He called across the table.

The brunette frowned at her old friend, "What?"

"You two are the only ones here without a date." He stated.

"So Erin _is_ your date." Emily answered, almost as a petulant child getting one over on her father.

A trickle of subdued giggles and snorts could be heard throughout the room, as Strauss dabbed her lips with a napkin in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, whilst shooting Emily daggers with her gaze.

Rossi casually chuckled and continued, "Don't deflect." He told the brunette, "So have you met anyone over in London yet?"

"Yeah." Garcia added, "We know you're a sucker for those British accents. Come on. Spill."

JJ chuckled watching Emily squirm and stiffen up.

"No." She said flatly, reaching out to pick up her glass of water, taking a sip as her mouth began to dry.

"We'll get it out of her later." Rossi winked. "A few more of those whiskeys will do the trick."

"Oh really?" Emily said, eyeing Rossi as a challenge.

"You're throwing down the gauntlet eh?" He nodded slowly, "I like it. That's my Emily." He smiled at the brunette who returned the gesture warmly, realising how much she missed that man.

"So what about you then Morgan?" Beth asked with a smile, taking a sip of her wine.

Everyone looked to the dark agent, who sat looking at the table in a trance, as if he were in another world.

Emily nudged him.

"What?" He said looking at her.

"Beth asked you a question."

"Oh sorry." He said turning to Beth with a goofy smile, "What did you say?"

"What about you? Any romance on the horizon?"

"Well." He began, going to pick up his wine glass. He paused, staring at it curiously, before moving his hand to the glass of water and picking it up, "There is this one chick." He said, pointing to nothing in the air.

"I know who it is." Garcia interrupted excitedly, clapping her hands together.

Emily swallowed nervously as Morgan turned to look at the techie with a questioning glare, "Well?" He muttered.

"It's that Hastings." She stated.

"Hastings?" He frowned.

JJ chuckled at him across the table, "Yeah we've seen you talking to her." She teased.

"No I haven't." He spat, the room all smirking at his child like defensiveness.

All, that was, except Emily, "Who's Hastings?" she asked quickly, regretting it as soon as the words left her lips.

"She's from the Academy." Reid told her.

"A trainee?" The brunette asked.

"She's no one." Morgan protested, but Emily just held a hand up to halt him.

"Reid?" She said, looking to the young Doctor.

"No she's a trainer. When you left." He chuckled, "I think Morgan missed someone to flirt with, so he replaced you with her."

"Reid. What are you talking about? I talked to her like twice." Morgan stated, feeling himself burn up.

"Morgan you're getting all flustered there." JJ interjected with a chuckle, "She's cute you should…."

She suddenly jumped in her seat, "Ow!"

Will looked from JJ to the dark profiler, a frown forming, "Morgan. Did you just kick my wife?"

Derek held his hands up in, "Sorry man, I just meant to nudge her."

"It's ok." JJ whispered, "I think I deserved it." She winked at Derek.

"Anyway." Morgan continued, shaking his head, "Hastings isn't anyone." And he turned to Emily who had her arms folded and a scowl.

As he caught her stare, she looked at him with a raised brow, "Don't you think you've had enough." She sniped, nodding towards the alcohol on the table.

He frowned, "Are you kidding me?" He said, his pitch considerably higher than normal, but she just turned away from him.

"Oh, I'm going to the bathroom." He whined, standing up and chucking his napkin on the table in a huff.

"Yeah and you may wanna go and get some fresh air whilst you're at it Morgan." Hotch suggested.

The dark profiler looked to his unit chief who sat glaring at him with that look a disappointed father gives his son. He then looked to Rossi for some help, but he had the same look. So too did Strauss. His last port of call was Emily, but she refused to look at him and remained sat, staring ahead, arms folded.

He shook his head, pushed his chair back and walked out of the room.

"Do you think we went too far?" Garcia asked the room, lowering her voice so he wouldn't hear.

JJ half frowned, "He seemed a bit over sensitive about it."

"He's just had too much to drink." Hotch bargained.

"Or may be he does like her." JJ smirked.

All their attention was suddenly drawn to Emily who stood up, "I'm just going to get a glass of water. Anyone want anything?" She asked, enough focus on Morgan that no one noticed her fake smile.

In the kitchen, she stood at the counter, letting the tap run as she attempted to clear her head.

"Hey."

She heard his soft tone behind her, but carried on busying herself with nothing in the sink.

He didn't touch her, but she soon felt his presence right behind her.

"You could have backed me up in there." He muttered.

"You could have not replaced me with Hastings."

He closed his eyes and sighed, "Emily, I have spoken to her twice in about two months. I don't even know her first name…. and since when does Reid know anything about flirting anyway?"

He watched her shrug, still refusing to turn around, hiding the smirk she couldn't help after his last comment.

"You're being ridiculous, you do know that don't you?" He stated.

"You're drunk." She snapped, the annoyance returning in a flash.

"And whose fault is that?" He argued back.

She turned on the spot to face, still leant up against the work surface.

"Actually. Yours." She said.

He frowned in confusion, "What?"

"You got me in this state in the first place." She said gesturing downwards.

He stared at her for a few seconds and then gazed down at her tummy, a proud smile slowly creeping across his face.

"I don't remember you arguing about it." He muttered, glancing up at her.

She pressed her lips together in a vain attempt to subdue her smile.

He took a brave step forward and placed his hands on her hips and stared into her big eyes, "You're not really mad with me are you?"

She bit her bottom lip and shrugged, and then her eyes widened as he began to shrink in front of her.

"What _are_ you doing?" She whispered frantically to him, as he fell on to his knees, his hands still fixed on her hips.

"Now Smudge." He began, talking at her tummy, "Mommy and daddy just had a little argument, but it was a stupid argument over nothing, because of her hormones."

Emily put one hand over her mouth as she muted her laugh.

"In fact." He continued, "I think she's gonna have to make it up to me tonight."

"Oi!" She scolded playfully, tapping the top of his head.

He glanced up and caught Emily's warm smile, "Get up before someone comes in." She chuckled.

"One more thing." He said before returning his attention to her belly, "Now. If you're a boy, I have some advice for you. Girls are always right….. Especially your mommy." He leaned in a little closer, "Even when she really isn't." He whispered.

Her smiled widened.

"And if you're a girl, well…." He paused in thought for a second, "Never ever go near any boys. They're all no good….. and they smell."

He then took hold of the hem of her shirt and lifted it slowly, exposing her skin. He closed the gap and gave a soft, warm kiss just to the side of her belly button.

Just as he felt the gentle touch of her hand on top of his head, he was startled by the high pitched voice from behind.

"Morgan! What are you doing to Emily?"

Derek jumped up, knocking Emily's arm sending the glass she was holding, flying across the room. The smashing sound reverberated against the walls, as Derek turned and stood next to Emily, both of them now staring at Reid who looked at them both with confused horror.

"What _was_ Morgan doing to Emily?" JJ asked, coming up behind Reid, followed one by one by the rest of the guests.

They all stood in the archway glaring at a both startled and awkward looking Derek and Emily.

"But you were…"

"Shut it Reid." Morgan interrupted.

"What's going on?" Garcia asked with concern.

"He was..…"

"_Reid_!" Both Emily and Derek shouted in unison.

Rossi made his way through the group and stepped ahead of them, "What's going on?" He said, glaring at them both. "Or I am going to let Reid tell us."

"Ok. Ok!" Emily said, holding her hands in the air and taking a small step forward. "I'll tell you."

The brunette took a deep breath as she looked at her silent expectant friends, "Well. This fine specimen of a man," She started, pointing at Derek, "stood dribbling next to me…."

"I am not dribbling." He protested, before wiping his mouth and then squinting to examine the back of his hand.

"As I was saying." She said turning from Derek to the group. "Derek and I have…" She paused, "Well we've…. Since I….."

She paused and turned as she heard Morgan huff.

"She's my girlfriend." He blurted out.

As Emily turned back to her friends there was a stunned silence, a few mouths agape as they looked at the pair.

She looked back to Derek who was swaying a little and then back to the group… "And I am so proud of that right now." She smirked, rolling her eyes.

A ripple of laughter echoed in the room and just as JJ and Garcia were about to break away, Derek held a hand up to them.

"Hey…" He began, nudging Emily's arm, "Why don't you tell them why I'm in this state?" He slurred, pointing to himself.

"What does he mean?" Reid questioned.

"Yeah, what is he on about?" Garcia added.

"Ok." She sighed, exhaling to compose herself, "Derek has been drinking my share for me."

"What?" Rossi said, "Didn't you like it?"

"No. I love it. I just…. can't… drink it." She stuttered.

Emily watched the room. JJ's mouth fell open and turned into an excited smile. Garcia's eyes widened and she clenched her teeth together in an attempt to subdue her squeal… it didn't work. Hotch and Rossi both smiled warmly looking at Beth and Strauss respectively and Reid turned and looked at everyone behind him, "She means she's pregnant right?"

"Yeah, well done Spence." JJ said sarcastically, tapping him on the shoulder as she skipped across the room, flinging her arms around her friend, closely followed by Garcia who enveloped them both.

"Congratulations." The two women almost sung.

"Hey, can I get in on this action ladies?" Derek muttered as he slipped one arm around JJ and the other around Emily's waist.

"Well." JJ said, shifting sidewards to allow him room, "Seeing as you did the real difficult job of impregnating our friend, I guess so."

"Yeah." He nodded with a smug smirk, "I can step up to the plate when I have to."

"Yeah, not tonight though buddy I think." Rossi said, slapping the dark Agent on the back, winking towards Emily.

"I forgot Derek can't handle his drink." Emily chuckled to Rossi, as she pulled out of the group hug.

"I too can take my drink." He protested, "But you were making me drink that stuff like it was orangeade or something. Seriously." He said looking towards Hotch and Rossi, "She was forcing it down me."

"Ok Morgan, you go sober up while I take your girlfriend for a proper chat." JJ said, taking hold of Emily's hand and leading her away.

"Yeah, she's got some explaining to do." Garcia added, following them behind. "And don't think you've gotten away with it Derek Morgan!" The blond called back.

As the girls disappeared, Rossi offered his hand to the dark profiler, "Congratulations Morgan."

"Thanks man." Derek said, giving a firm shake.

"Do you have any idea what you're letting yourself in for?" Hotch chuckled, pulling the younger agent in for a hug, surprising everyone.

"No." Morgan whispered, just before the Unit Chief pulled away.

Hotch smiled and tapped Derek on the top of his arm, "I'm going to enjoy watching this…. But seriously, you know where I am if you need anything."

"Thanks Hotch."

Reid held his hand up awkwardly grabbing the men's attention, "You know…"

"Is this going to be some statistic on…." Morgan interrupted, throwing his hands up in the air, "I don't know… something?" He said tiredly.

Reid frowned, "No." He muttered, looking down at the floor, shuffling his feet, "I was actually going to say I think you'll make a wonderful father."

A big grin crept across Morgan's face, "C'mon here kid." He said taking a step forward with his arms wide, taking the young Doctor in a hug.

After a twenty minute probe of the past few months from JJ and Garcia, the techie teasing out the finer detail from their first night together and subsequent liaisons, JJ and Emily were left alone as Garcia left to continue her interrogation with Morgan.

They sat on the small wooden bench outside, huddled together to keep warm, "So, how's the pregnancy going?" JJ asked with a warm smile, "Any weird cravings yet?"

"No." Emily shook her head, "Nothing yet. But I am so tired."

"I remember that part." JJ chuckled.

"I can't believe it JJ. I'm worn out just walking up the stairs. In fact no, I'm worn out sitting at my desk."

"You able to cut your hours?"

"No. there's too much on. But I'll work through it." The brunette shrugged.

"It must be tough on your own though." JJ sighed, her big blue eyes full of sympathy, remembering her own struggles.

"Honestly JJ…. I hate it. I wish he was there."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea." She said with a bewildered shake of the head.

"What does Morgan want?"

"For me to move back here of course."

"And you don't want that?" JJ uttered with a sad expression, looking downward.

Emily sifted her body round slightly to face her friend, "JJ. I wish I could get you all and fly you to London. I love the job. I really do….. I dunno, I just…. I just settled in straight away there and it's interesting and…"

"It's ok, you don't have to justify wanting to stay there Em."

"But that could all change right? I mean I could have this baby and not want to work."

"But you may want to work…. Like me." The blond bargained.

Emily put her hands to her mouth and exhaled hard, "Oh, this is so hard JJ. I don't know what to do. All I know is that wherever I am, I want Derek with me."

"You think he'd make a good stay at home dad?" JJ smirked.

"Probably." Emily smiled, "But I don't know if that's what I want."

The younger profiler laughed and shook her head, "Come here you." She muttered, wrapping her arms around Emily, "You are in a mess aren't you."

The brunette nodded against her friend.

"Well, you've got a few months to figure it out and I'm right here to help you ok?"

"Ok." Emily smiled, pulling back to look at the blond.

"You've just got to do what's right for you, Derek and that baby, whatever that is."

"How do you it? How do you have it all?"

"It isn't easy Emily. It's taken a lot of working out for me and Will. There's been lots of ups and downs… You know that. But one thing is for sure, you and Derek need to at least be in the same country to do it."

"I know….."

They sat in silence for a few seconds just staring at each other until a big smile crept across JJ's face.

"What?" Emily smirked.

"I'm so pleased for you Em." JJ whispered, "You look really happy. Derek looks really happy. You _are_ happy right?"

The brunette nodded, "Very." She muttered.

~~CM~~

A week later, Emily had been back in London for a few days. Derek jumped into his office chair and flipped open the laptop. He had a few minutes to call her before he had to get to a briefing for a case that had just come in.

"Hey baby." He muttered as her face appeared on the screen.

"Hey." She smiled.

"How's your day been?"

"Hectic. I'm exhausted. I just literally walked in. Time to put in a microwave meal and then go to bed."

"Em." He sighed, "You really need to eat better than that."

"Derek." She mimicked him, "You really need to not tell me what to do. I've been at work for ten hours and I'm tired. The last thing I wanna do is cook."

"But my mama says…."

"Ah ah." She interrupted holding one hand up, "Let's get something straight early on. I think your mom is great, I really do. And I know she's a wonderful mother, but if you keep starting off sentences with 'my mama says' all the time, we're gonna have a problem."

"Alright." He chuckled. "So what did…"

He stopped as his office door flung open.

"See, I told you he'd be talking to her." Garcia said as she and JJ marched into the room and moved to stand behind Derek.

"Hey Em!" The techie waved frantically.

"Hi Pen. JJ. You two good?"

"Yes." Garcia answered excitedly, "Look. I wanted to show you these."

She held up a pair of rainbow coloured knitted booties earning a big smile from Emily, "So, you're going to spoil this child before it's even born." She chuckled.

"You betcha" The techie assured.

A chiming sound was suddenly heard in the distance.

"Oh hang on. That's my front door. Give me a second." Emily said, looking behind her.

They watched as she walked away.

Morgan pointed at the screen, "See that book case… the _really_ heavy looking one?"

"Yes." JJ said.

"Well, I spent hours assembling it whilst she was at work. Put it exactly where she wanted it and then put _all_ those books on there. And what do you think she did? That night, she sat on the sofa and told me it didn't look right and I had to….."

He stopped.

"Had to what?" Garcia asked.

"Shhh." He hushed the techie.

They watched as they heard the front door slam shut and Emily's voice plus an unfamiliar man's voice coming from the hallway.

"_You can just bring it in here." _They heard Emily say.

They saw her emerge, followed by the man, wearing suit trousers and a shirt, unbuttoned at the top, his tie loose and slightly to the side.

"_Here you go."_ The man said in his strong British accent, placing a large, heavy looking cardboard box on the coffee table. _"I only noticed you left it in my car when I got to Riverside." _

Morgan frowned at the screen.

"_You didn't have to bring it back."_ Emily offered, "_It could have waited till tomorrow."_

"_I know what you're like."_ The man teased, causing Morgan to shift uncomfortably in his seat, _"You'd of been sitting here restless, thinking you could be working….Even though you shouldn't be."_

They heard Emily's familiar chuckle, "_You're probably right. Thanks."_ She muttered.

"_Ok, well I'll leave you to your evening then."_ The man said, turning and beginning to walk back into the hallway_. "I can pick you up in the morning if you like?"_ He offered.

"_No. It's ok. I'll be fine. But thank you."_

"_Well you know where I am." _He told her, his voice fading as he stepped out of the front door.

"_I do. Thanks. See you tomorrow." _

JJ and Garcia looked at each other and grimaced as Morgan sat in silence, glaring at the screen.

"Sorry about that." Emily said, sitting back down and smiling at them all oblivious to the tension now in Derek's office.

"Who was that?" Derek asked without taking a breath.

"Daniel."

"Who's Daniel?"

"Daniel from work…. I told you about him."

"No you didn't."

"Ok…. Well if I didn't I didn't, now I have. What's the big deal?"

Morgan went to answer, but stopped as he felt a warm hand on his back, he knew as an attempt to calm him.

"Em, we have to go." Garcia called out, diffusing the situation. "We have a briefing now."

"Ok." She smiled sadly, "Have a good day you guys."

"Bye Emily." JJ waved, then leaving with Garcia.

"I have to go too." Derek began, "We're flying out to Illinois straight after the briefing."

"Oh ok. Well I guess I'll speak to you tomorrow then." She said softly.

"Yeah." He whispered, placing his hand to the screen, "Bye Emily."

"Bye Derek." Her doing the same.

They stared, each waiting for the other to sign off. He watched as she leant forward, about to hit the button.

"Hang on." He called out.

"What?"

"You know that everything I do and say is because I…." He shook his head and swallowed, "Well, it's for you and that baby. You know that right?"

She smiled with a nod, "I do." She whispered, "I know this is hard for you. But we'll figure it out… I promise." She said gently.

"I know." He uttered, "I really have to go, but get some rest." He half smiled, "Sweet dreams Emily."

"Have a good flight Derek. Be safe. Bye."

He stood as he watched the screen go blank and shut down the laptop, grabbed his bag and walked out his office.

JJ and Garcia stood waiting outside of the briefing room and watched him as he stomped towards them with a deep frown.

"Morgan?" Garcia said as he walked past.

But he didn't respond. All they heard was him muttering something about 'Daniel' under his breath.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews and your patience…. Hope you enjoy this next installment.**

He took a sip of coffee as the screen of his laptop rung out at him, setting the cup down swiftly as her face appeared.

"Hi." She smiled tiredly.

He swallowed the hot liquid; "Hey where are you?"

He frowned, knowing the answer as he said the last word, spying the familiar commemorative plaque hung on the wall behind her.

"Still at work." She sighed.

"It's like nine at night there right?" He asked, looking down at his watch to make sure of the time.

"Yeah. This operation is starting to pick up pace. I should be done for the night soon though." She said, rubbing her eyes.

"Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"

"Derek, I'm pregnant, not ill. Please stop fussing." She said gently, with a small thankful smile.

She watched as his brow dipped and a little snarl formed on his lips.

"Derek…."

"Alright. Alright." He said raising his hands in surrender, "I'll stop fussing."

"Anyway, I've got something to show you." She smiled excitedly, standing up.

"What is it?" He said with a confused smirk.

"Look…" He heard her say, but she was too close for him to see her face.

She stood in front of the screen and turned so she was sidewards on. As he watched, a smile crept across his face as she lifted her blouse, revealing her tummy, lightly protruding over her hipster pants. She ran a palm slowly over her skin.

"This is your fault this is." She told him, replacing the fabric and sitting so her could se her face once again.

"What's my fault?"

"I'm getting fat." She said, a sulky pout forming on her lips.

"Emily, there's nothing there. No one is gonna notice that." He chuckled.

"No, but soon I'm gonna be at that stage where people do notice it and the won't know if I'm just putting on weight or I'm pregnant and they'll give me _that_ look."

"Since when have you ever been bothered about that stuff?"

"Since I started getting fat."

"Gees Emily. You are not fat…. You're pregnant. And just so you know, you're a damn sexy pregnant woman."

She raised her brow, immune to his charm at that moment, "Ya'think?" She said sarcastically.

"Yep." He chuckled.

"I don't feel sexy." She complained, folding her arms and sitting back against the chair.

But when he didn't respond as she expected, she eyed him suspiciously whilst he sat and looked at her, the smirk on his lips growing bigger.

"What?" She asked.

He shrugged, "Well, it was hard to tell." He mused with a small nod of his head.

"What was hard to tell?" She asked a little frustrated as he talked in riddles.

"I couldn't see everything. May be if you…" He shrugged, "You know, showed me a bit more, I can tell you just how sexy you are." He finished with a flash of his eyebrows.

She unfolded her arms and sat forward, leaning her elbows on the desk, "You mean you want me to do a strip tease for you?"

He just grinned.

"What a great idea whilst I'm here at work." She scolded sarcastically.

He then gave her a look of a child who had had his favourite toy taken away and she laughed inwardly.

"Although." She continued, unbuttoning the top two buttons of her blouse, and slipping one hand under the fabric causing Morgan's eyes to widen, "These are definitely feeling like they've gotten bigger."

His eyes fixed on the movement of her hand under the shirt for a few seconds before he met her stare, and gazed at her, his eyes narrowing as he eyed her suspiciously. "Are you teasing me Emily Prentiss?"

A naughty smirk formed on her lips, "Wanna make your own mind up?" She asked, ignoring his last comment.

"You are a wicked wicked woman." He growled, shifting in his seat a little.

"What?" She almost screeched, unable to subdue the smile.

"There's no way you would have the guts to show me at work."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really."

"Ah, I see. Reverse psychology." She nodded, pressing her lips together.

He gave a quick raise of his brow, "Is it working?"

She pursed her lips and looked upward in thought, "May be." She uttered.

He watched as she then gazed downward, her blouse so far open so that if she undid one more button a whole lot of cleavage would be revealed.

She gave him a wicked grin, then moved her hand to the edge of the fabric, her finger teasing the pearl coloured button. She gripped the tiny piece of plastic and began to thread it though the hole.

But within a split second, they were both bought out of the moment with a crash as she suddenly sat upright in her chair, "Oh shit!" She gasped, grabbing a file off the desk and frantically waving it in front of her face.

Morgan frowned and was just about to ask her what was wrong when he heard another voice in the room with her.

"_Emily?"_ the voice chuckled_, "You having another hot flush?" _

"Yeah." She laughed nervously back, continuing with the fanning.

"_Well, I was just making a drink. You want one?"_

"Errr. Yes please. Coffee." She nodded, her voice a little shaky.

"_Splash of milk, no sugar?"_

"Extra strong please."

"_Ok. No problem."_

"Thanks Daniel."

"_Oh, and I got the stuff I need to fix that tap."_

"That's great." Morgan saw Emily give the interrupter a quick smile, clearly eager for him to leave.

She watched Daniel and shut the door behind himself, missing Morgan's roll of the eyes at the mention of the man's name.

"Gees that was close." She said relieved, looking back to the screen as she did a couple of buttons up and straightened her shirt.

She sat still upon seeing the frown on his face. "What's up with you?" She asked.

"Nothing." He defended, fidgeting in his chair.

"Ok, well this little show will have to wait for another time I'm afraid." She winked.

He half laughed, a small smile creeping across his lips, "Look forward to it." He muttered playfully, but the smile quickly faded and he was unable to stop the next words leaving his lips.

"Emily?" He continued.

"Uh huh." She smiled.

"What tap was _he_ on about?" Morgan said, with an undeniable emphasis on _'he'._

She cocked her head to the side with a raise of the brow, "Really? Are we going there _again_?"

"I don't like it Emily." He said.

"What don't you like?"

"I don't like the fact he gives you lifts home from work. I don't like the fact he's going to be in your flat fixing stuff and I don't like the fact he thinks you're having another hot flush when I didn't even know you ever had one."

"Derek I speak to you every day…. A few times most days. You know everything there is to know."

"Well, I think it's weird how he's….."

"Helping a pregnant woman who he works with?" She interrupted, unimpressed. "Like what friends do?"

"I know how guys think." He told her.

"May be all guys don't think like you." She snapped, more forcefully than she meant to and regretted the words as soon as they fell from her mouth as his eyes widened and he looked at her as if she'd just kicked him in the stomach.

"Derek." She said, leaning forward, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that….. But even if he does have an ulterior motive, it doesn't mean anything will happen." She continued, shaking her head. "But if you don't trust me….."

"Of course I trust you. It's not that anyway, it's just.….." He exhaled and shook his head just a little.

"Derek." She began softly, looking him in the eye, "I wish it were you here fixing my tap. I wish it were you getting me coffee. I wish it were you picking me up from work." She lightly chuckled earning a small smile from him, "And….." She continued, "I wish it were you rubbing my feet."

One brow suddenly darted upwards and his head jarred back a little as if trying to get a better view of her…. that was until he saw the wicked smirk curl up the edges of her mouth.

"Ha ha. Very funny." He snorted, "But he would be a brave man to go near those things." He said, mockingly scrunching his nose and wafting his hand in front of his face.

Her mouth fell open feigning surprise.

"You deserved that Emily Prentiss." He added.

She laughed, "Ok, may be I did, but seriously, you have nothing to worry about with Daniel." She assured.

He shook his head, "I'm not worried about Daniel. I don't think you're going to run off with him or anything and I'm glad you've got someone nearby looking out for you. But if I'm totally honest, I'm jealous that he's getting to do the things I want to be doing. That I _should_ be doing. It's just frustrating, that's all."

"I know." She whispered, "But believe me Derek, he does _not_ get to do most of the things you do." She winked.

She watched him smile, hoping that his mind was wandering to other things right now. She felt sad inside that she was making him feel this way…. Not because of Daniel. Daniel was incidental. Derek Morgan was not feeling insecure over another man. She knew that much….. Derek Morgan just wanted to be _the_ man that was there and looked after her on a day to day basis. Not because she _needed_ looking after, but because he felt that's what she deserved. And she knew he deserved that too; Someone to look after him. That's what _she_ wanted. Over the past few years, they had both resisted this kind of love and care, fending it off with those walls they built around themselves, and now finally, when they were ready to let them fall down and let each other in, they were thousands of miles apart. In truth, she needed him and he needed her.

Taking a deep, contemplative breath, she leant forward and smiled at him warmly, "I miss you. You know that right?" She told him.

He paused with a smile, "I know. I miss you too." He uttered, "But it's not too long now till Christmas."

"Ughhhh." She gasped, leaning back in her chair. "You mean the Christmas we are both working."

"Ok, it's not long till after Christmas. Booked my ticket this morning. You did get some time off didn't you?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "A whole week."

"Good…. Well I better get going." Morgan started, "So you can finish up and get home."

"Yes sir." She grinned.

He leaned forward, "I like it when you call me sir."

"Oh you do do you?" She said with one raised eyebrow. "Well don't get used to it. Technically I now outrank you."

"Hmmmmm" He said in a high pitched tone, "Get you…. Although." He said, a grin forming, "I think I might actually enjoy calling you ma'am more than you calling me sir."

She let out a muffled laugh, "Ok, I think we better leave this conversation here or I'm never getting out of here."

"Yes ma'am." He nodded, with a smirk.

She cringed.

"What?" He asked.

"Do you get as much enjoyment when you call Strauss that?"

He paused in thought with a frown, glancing up to the ceiling, "Well, I didn't, but I have a feeling next time I call her that, it's going to have an entirely different feel to it."

"Ewww." Emily mewed, with a look of disgust, "Get off my screen now."

He chuckled, "Ok, I'm really going to go now. Text me when you get in?"

"Of course." She said softly. "Have a good day and say hi to everyone."

"I will." He uttered, "Bye Emily."

"Bye….."

As the screen went blank, a light knock was heard and the door slowly opened, Daniel pushing it with his back as he held two cups of steaming hot coffee in his hands and a file under his chin.

Placing one cup down on her desk and handing her the file, he took the seat opposite her.

"I've finished the report. Anything you need a hand with?" He smiled, his chiselled jaw rising slightly as he revealed his pearly white teeth.

"No, I'm ok thanks." She said, shifting in her seat a little, "I'll be done soon."

"Ok, I'll finish up too. I can fix that tap tonight."

"Oh no, don't go to any bother. It's late."

"It will literally take ten minutes." He said, standing up, "Leaky taps drive me insane. I wouldn't' leave you with one for a day longer." He winked, his blue eyes creased at the sides.

"Ok." She nodded with an awkward smile, suddenly seeing him in a slightly different light.

As he left the room, she shook her head and scolded herself. He was just a nice guy.

~~CM~~

"Can you pass me that small wrench, please." Daniel asked, leaning over her kitchen sink, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Sure." She said, handing him the tool, then returning to take a seat on the high stool next to the breakfast bar, taking a sip of her drink.

All of a sudden she jumped a little in her seat, startled as Daniel hoped backwards, "Shit!" He shouted, as water spurted from the tap.

He moved forward quickly again and placed his hands over the tap to stop the water going everywhere, "Pass me a towel Emily?" He yelled.

Taking a step towards him, she pressed her lips together attempting to hide her smirk seeing his dark blond hair and his face drenched in water.

"It is not funny." He said, unable to stop himself from laughing.

"Sorry." She chuckled, "But your face is a picture."

"Here." He said with a smile and a shake of the head, "Hold this here and I'll turn off the water."

A few minutes later, once the tap was fixed, Daniel leant against the counter and wiped his face with a dry towel.

"Well, that's all sorted for you now." He said, then attempting to dry some of his shirt off, but stopped, shaking his head as it was futile.

"Your shirt is soaked through." She said with a slight grimace.

"Do you mind if I take it off? It's getting a bit cold."

She nodded, "Of course….. I may have something for you to change into."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I don't think any of your stuff will fit me… although I did like that red shirt you had the other day." He winked. "But it may clash with these trousers."

Laughing, she turned and walked away, "No, I will have something. You can't go out with no shirt in this weather. It's freezing out there." She called back as she entered her bedroom.

She opened the closet doors and stared at the contents, sifting through the clothing Derek had left behind. She opted for a plain black sweatshirt.

Walking back into the lounge, Daniel was stood with his back to her having taken off his shirt. She saw the muscles in his broad back moving as he dried himself off and spied an image on his right shoulder blade.

"What's the tattoo?" She asked, causing him to spin round.

"_Who dares wins_." He stated.

"What's that?"

"SAS motto. I was in five years before I joined the Police."

"SAS. Wow." She said impressed, "Bet you've seen a lot."

"Certainly did." He smiled, "That for me?" He nodded towards the sweater she had in her hand.

"Oh yeah," She said handing it to him.

"Bit big for you isn't it?" He chuckled.

"It's Derek's." She told him with a quick raise of the brow.

"Of course." He nodded, being reminded of the boyfriend she had spoken of a few times, "He won't mind?"

"No." She lied, "Of course not."

She couldn't help but glance down at his naked torso as he lifted the shirt over his head. He was probably a little slimmer than Derek, but not quite as defined…. A runner may be, she thought….

"So when's he over next then?" Daniel asked, pulling the fabric down to reveal his face once again and as the sleeves slipped over his arms, she could see the fabric sagged a little, Derek's bigger arms having stretched the material….. How she missed those arms.

"Just after Christmas." She replied, bringing herself back to the conversation.

"Oh, not long then."

"No." She smiled.

"It must be tough here without him."

She wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question, but decided to treat as the former and gave a half smile, pressing her lips together.

After a couple of seconds of silence, he reached down and picked up his car keys, "Ok, well if there's nothing else, I'll be going then." He said in a cheery tone, the mention of Derek seemingly having no effect on him.

"No. You've done enough. Thanks so much for this." She smiled, "I could never have done it. DIY is definitely not my thing."

"No problem. Any time you need anything, you know where I am."

He made his way to the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." He said before stepping out into the hallway.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow…."

~~CM~~

She rolled over and squinted at the clock at her bed side. 06:00 was flashing in neon green lights. She let out a small groan and let her head flop back on to the soft pillow, closing her eyes, fighting the urge to fall back to sleep.

Just about ready to muster up the energy to peel herself from under the duvet, she heard the soft beep of her cell.

Reaching for it, she smiled as she saw the message bubble on her screen.

'_Morning baby. Merry Christmas. You got time for 5 minutes of Skype? Dx'_

'_Sure. Signing on now. Ex' _She typed in reply.

Sitting herself up against the headboard, she pulled the well used iPad out of the top bedside draw, lay it against her bended knees and tapped on the Skype icon.

"Hey." She smiled widely at him, as his tired, but happy face, appeared on the screen.

"Hey princess. Merry Christmas." He beamed at her, his voice gruff from the long day.

"Merry Christmas." She uttered back, "You're up late. Got a break on the case?"

"Nah…. I just wanted to see you before you went off to work. I know you'll be busy later…. And so will we no doubt." He said with some disappointment.

"I know. This really sucks right?"

"Yeah, but Garcia has promised to bring in turkey and cup cakes." He winked.

He watched as she folded her arms and her chin dropped a little, the quietest 'huff' escaped her lips.

His mouth curled up at the sides into an easy smile. "Aww baby. You're missing out." He said with a mock pout.

"All I've got to look forward to is a sandwich and a cup of coffee…. If I'm lucky." She complained.

"Well, we will have our Christmas dinner when I get to you in a few days time."

"_If_ you get to me you mean? You're no closer to solving that case than you were when you started."

He held up a cream coloured file, packed with paper, "I'm working round the clock on this one. My Christmas is cancelled." He muttered.

She smiled warmly as she saw the sincerity in his tired eyes. "You better sort it out soon and get your butt over here. I've got some presents for you." She told him.

His brow raised and his eyes widened, "Presents?" He began, looking to the side and then grimacing just a little, "I thought you said we weren't doing presents? I didn't….."

"Oh." She whispered, "I did, but….. Well it doesn't matter if you didn't get me anything. It's ok." She said quickly with a small shake of the head.

A big smile formed on his face as he watched her try to hide her disappointment, averting her gaze from his.

"Well that's good because I don't think I'm going to have chance to get you anything before I come over."

"It doesn't matter. It's just a dumb commercialised holiday anyway." She shrugged.

"Yeah." He whispered, "Listen, I think I left my Bears T-Shirt at yours. Can you have a look for me?"

"Your Bears shirt?" She frowned, "Ok. I'll look for it later, but I don't remember seeing it anywhere."

"Can you look for it now?"

"Derek, I don't have time. I have to get to work."

"It's ok. I think I know where it is….. Please?"

"What do you want me to look now for?" She said impatiently.

"Emily, the time it's taking for you to argue with me, you could have looked. I think it's just in your closet."

The screen suddenly jerked and she disappeared and all he could see was the crumpled up cream bed sheet.

"Where in the closet?" He heard her call to him.

"I think I threw it in the bottom in the right corner."

"When are you ever gonna fold your stuff before going to bed?" He heard her grumble to herself, causing him to chuckle.

"I can't see anything!" She shouted back.

"It's gotta be there. Just feel right in the corner at the back." He yelled.

"I can't find…. Hang on. What's this?"

Everything went silent for a few seconds and the screen then shifted once again as she sat back down and set the iPad on her lap once again.

"What's this?" She asked with a smirk, holding up the small black box wrapped in a red ribbon.

"I dunno. Read the label." He urged.

She lightly grasped the small piece of card and bought it a little closer so she could see it properly.

'_Happy Christmas Emily. You have given me the most wonderful gift of my entire life and I can't wait to share it with you. All my love. Always. Derek xx'_

She pressed her lips together and slowly looked back up to him with shy eyes, "Thank you." She uttered.

"You didn't open it yet." He chuckled. "You might hate it."

She smiled and lifted the box toward her, gripping the end of the ribbon and pulling gently. The red fabric fell undone and dropped to the bed. She removed the lid and stared at the jewellery lay upon the deep purple velvet cushion. Lifting the thin gold chain and holding it in front of her, the pendants swayed slowly; Three dainty hearts, two bigger than the third, all entwined with one another.

She stared at it and gulped, then letting out a breath, "Derek it's beautiful." She whispered.

"You like it?" He asked hopefully.

She looked back to him, "I love it. It's really thoughtful."

"You get what it represents right?"

"Of course." She smiled, with a small nod of the head.

"Put it on then." He encouraged.

She slipped the chain around her neck and did up the clasp, going on to examine the three pendants, holding them between her fingers, then looking back to him.

They sat for a few seconds just staring at each other, their eyes mirroring one another… a hint of happy….. A hint of sad.

A sudden pang of guilt hit her. "But you haven't got anything from me to open today."

"Emily, seeing you just made my day." He said sincerely. "All I need is to know you and smudge are ok." He winked.

She gave a warm smile before glancing over to the clock on the bed stand. "I gotta go now." She apologised.

"Ok baby. You have a good day ok?"

"_You_ just made it a whole lot better, you know that right?"

He smiled, "Good."

"Now get some sleep." She told him, "And I'll speak to you later."

"Hopefully." He winked.

"Yeah. Hopefully." She muttered back, "And Derek?"

"Yeah?"

She swallowed and bit her bottom lip, before parting her lips to continue, "I love you." She whispered.

His eyes suddenly widened in surprise, but quickly softened, a big grin creeping across his face.

"What?" She asked.

"You know, that just equalled best present I ever got." He murmured in that deep velvet tone. "I love you too." He whispered.

She attempted to subdue her slightly embarrassed smile and looked downward. Saying that to him had felt right for a while now; she just could never find the nerve within herself to do it. He had shown her he loved so many times and she knew he held back the words waiting for her to take the lead….. It went unsaid that's the way it would happen. They both understood the gravity of those words to one another.

After staring at him for a few seconds, she reluctantly drew a breath and began her goodbye, "I suppose I should go." She sighed.

"Ok baby. Have a good day."

"Bye Derek."

"Bye…. Oh and Emily?" He called quickly.

"Yeah?"

"Have a look behind the muesli in the cupboard."

"What?"

"See ya." He smiled before signing off leaving her with a bewildered stare at a blank screen.

~~CM~~

She rushed out of her bedroom, still brushing her hair after showering, now running fifteen minutes late for work. She glanced over to the cupboard where the cereal was kept and then to her handbag, then back to the cupboard. Curiosity got the better of her and she hopped across the kitchen on the cold floor, opening the door.

She wondered how he'd managed to hide whatever it was that he'd hidden behind the muesli since the last time he was there, but then again, he knew she hated muesli and had only ever bought it for him.

She shifted the box out of the way and behind it found an oblong cream envelope, with Derek's big writing on the front…. _'Emily'_

She ripped along the edge of the thick paper and pulled out the contents…. '_A four night stay for two at Cherry Tree Cottage in the New Forest over New Year,' written on the dark brown card. _

A small paper note fell to the floor which she crouched down to pick up…. '_Ok, so this is kinda for me too, but I thought we could do with the break… I'll keep everything crossed we can get there…. Love Dx.'_

She suppressed the big smile that had formed upon her lips and shoved the envelope in her bag, rushing out of the door, ready for her cancelled Christmas day.

~~CM~~

The day had been busy; although she was office bound due to the pregnancy, she ran the live operation from the control centre. It had been relatively successful, gaining them some vital information to move to the next phase.

The time had gone so quickly that the next thing she knew, it was pitch dark outside and Christmas day had pretty much disappeared. Her watch read 7:18pm and as she walked back into her office, she glanced at her cell; No message from Derek…. they must be busy too, but she thought she'd risk a quick call whilst she waited for her team to come back from out in the field.

She listened to the ring tone at the other end, that went on much longer than normal and she was about to hang up when she heard a voice at the other end.

"JJ?" She asked, obviously surprised to hear her friend's voice.

"_Hey Emily." _Her voice was timid, _"Happy Christmas."_

"JJ. What's wrong? Where's Derek?" Emily asked without hesitation.

There was a short pause.

"JJ?" She repeated firmly.

"_Emily."_ She began softly_, "We're in the hospital. There was a crash."_

"A crash? What happened to him?"

"_He's in theatre now. We're just waiting to speak to the surgeon."_

"Surgeon? What?"

"_Look, I don't know how bad it is. That' why we didn't ring you. We didn't want to worry you unnecessarily."_

"But he's in surgery. It must be serious."

"_Emily, I don't know. We're just waiting."_

"Was he on his own?"

"_Yeah. We can't work out what happened. It looks like he may just have lost control."_

"That's not like him."

"_No it's not, but we'll figure it out…" _

Silence.

"_You ok Em?"_ JJ said softly.

"Er… yeah." She muttered, "Just call me when you've got some news?"

"_Of course Emily. Talk to you in a bit."_

Emily almost dropped her cell on the desk and stared into nothing, unable to focus.

After a short while, she heard a muffled sound,

"Emily….?"

But she didn't move…. She couldn't move.

"Emily?"

The voice was suddenly louder and she flinched at his touch.

"Whoa." Daniel said, holding his hands up, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

She just stared at him, her eyes wide and glistening with moisture.

"Emily. What's wrong?" He asked, taking a tentative step closer.

She took a hard gulp and shook her head, "Nothing." She said as she tried to compose herself, "Is everyone back ok now?"

"Yes." He said with a frown, as he watched Emily stand and start shuffling papers frantically on her desk.

"Ok, I'm going to let everyone go now. They've done enough for today."

She went to walk past Daniel, but dropped the files, papers ending up strewn across the floor.

"Fuck!" She shouted as she crouched down, desperately picking up the papers, shoving them together, mixing them up completely.

"Hey. It's alright." Daniel said softly, bending down beside her to help.

He saw her hands shaking as she handled the papers.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." She said unconvincingly.

"Emily." He said, "I know there's something up. I know technically you're my boss, but I'd like to think we're friends. You can tell me."

Her face began to crease as she fought the tears away, "It's Derek." She stuttered.

"Derek?"

"He's in the hospital. He's had a car crash."

"Just now?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Daniel asked with genuine concern.

Her face broke further, "I don't know." She said with a quick shake of the head, before standing up.

"I'm sure he will be." Daniel tried to reassure, as he stood back up next to her.

The brunette shook her head, "You don't understand. I think this might be my fault."

"How do you figure that one out?" He asked gently.

"I think he crashed because he's tired. He's worn out trying solve this case so he can get here."

"You don't know that."

But it was futile as he watched her chest begin to heave. Her face creased further and her bottom lip quivered as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Hey. It'll be ok." He said taking a step closer, and cautiously placed one arm around her… and for a split second she allowed him to hold her as the tears began to escape her eyes more rapidly, but she quickly checked herself.

"Please don't." She uttered, pulling away from him, gabbing her bag and heading out of the office.

She wiped her eyes, took a deep breath and straightened her jacket, making for the rest of the team where she stood them down from duty, before rushing out of the building and hailing a cab down to take her home.

All she could think about on the way home was jumping on a plane right now to go to him….. But she couldn't. There was no way and she felt so helpless.

All she could do was grasp hold of the tiny pendants hanging on her new neck chain, pray and wait…

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for all the reviews as always… I tried to respond to everyone, but I apologise if I missed anyone. This chapter is a bit shorter than normal…. I'm going away for a few days and wanted to get something out before I did. Hope you enjoy this one…..**

It was eleven thirty and she sat on her sofa, foot tapping on the floor, rolling the dainty pendants of her necklace between her thumb and forefinger. She'd been home for just over an hour after getting the news from JJ and since then, she had picked up her cell and put it down well over ten times wanting to call her friend for some news, but stopped herself, knowing that JJ would call as soon as she knew anything for sure.

She had cleaned the kitchen, put away her freshly washed laundry and attempted to eat, but it was to no avail. In the end, she gave up, knowing that attempting to sleep would be futile, she turned on the gas fire and bedded into the sofa aimlessly flicking through the television channels, not noticing it was mute….

She almost jumped out of her skin as the cell began ringing out at her, JJ's face appearing on the screen.

"JJ?" She answered.

"_Hey Em."_ The blonde's voice was low, and slow, but unreadable.

"So?"

"_He's gonna be ok." _JJ told her as a matter of fact.

Emily let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, momentarily forgetting her friend at the other end.

"_Emily?" _

"Sorry JJ." The older woman said, shaking herself back into the moment, "How is he?"

"_He had some internal bleeding, not too much, but they've managed to stem it. Other than that he has a bit of a bump on the head, a broken ankle and a bruised ego."_ JJ lightly chuckled at the end, trying to make light of the situation in an attempt to calm her friend.

"So he's awake?"

"_Yeah. He's a bit groggy, but he's able to talk."_

"Can I talk to him?" She asked hurriedly.

"_You can, but can I call you back when he's ready? The Doctor's in with him now just doing some tests."_

"Sure." She said quietly, "Ok."

JJ smiled warmly at her friend's disappointment.

"_I'll tell you what." _The younger Agent continued, _"I'll get Garcia's iPad. You can talk to him properly then… see what state he got himself in."_

"Thanks JJ… and er, do you know why he crashed yet? Did he say?"

"_No. We didn't ask him. The local cops had a look around but couldn't find anything obvious."_

"Oh ok. I'll talk to you in a bit then."

"_Hang on Em."_ JJ said softly.

"Yeah?"

"_Are you ok?"_ She asked in her gentle, soothing tone.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"_Liar."_ JJ whispered, Emily hearing a smile in her friend's voice.

There was silence and JJ paused allowing Emily time….. Time to let it out. She didn't rush her. Put no pressure on her. Just waited. And after a while there it was – she heard the tiniest of sniffles from her friend at the other end of the line.

"_It's ok Em."_ The blond said gently. _"He's gonna be ok. And you two will be ok." _She said firmly.

Another a long breath could be heard by JJ before Emily began; "We don't make things easy do we?"

A breathy chuckle escaped JJ's lips, "_I wouldn't expect anything else from you two. But I promise you, I am here for you the whole way ok? Please don't forget that."_

"I won't JJ. Thank you."

"_Ok. Well I'm gonna go now, but I'll call you back soon."_

"Ok. Talk to you in a bit."

"_Bye Emily."_

She let the hand holding her cell fall into her lap, rubbing her tired eyes with the other and slowly made her way to the bedroom. Too tired to do anything else, she stripped down and slid under the thick duvet, balancing the iPad on her lap awaiting the call.

She scrunched her eyes as the tablet rang out and opened them slowly, focusing on the screen. The time read 01:12.

As she coughed a little to clear her throat of the sleepiness, she tapped the answer button revealing Penelope Garcia's smiling face.

"Hey Pen." She said tiredly.

"_Hey my beautiful baby making angel."_

Emily let out a laboured laugh, "Where are you?" She asked.

"_Tending to your grizzly man." _She said, her eyes darting sidewards indicating his position next to her.

"Grizzly?"

"_Yeah. Someone here thinks he's superman and can undergo surgery and be up and dancing within two hours."_

The screen jerked all of a sudden and she heard Derek's gruff voice_, "I do not."_ He spat, turning the screen to face himself, _"I just don't need all of this fuss."_ He said, still looking at the techie.

Emily patiently waited, and after a second or two, he moved his head slowly to face her.

"_Hey."_ His voice croaked and his eyelids slowly opened and closed.

"Hi." She replied, barely audible upon seeing his tired, beat up face.

She watched as he half smiled, immediately followed by a slight grimace.

"You in a lot of pain?" She asked.

He shook his head gently_, "Nothing I can't handle. I've had worse." _He told her, attempting a wink.

She swallowed and took a breath before continuing, "So what happened?" She asked gently.

He shrugged, _"A cat ran in the road and I swerved."_

"A cat?" She said unconvinced.

He shifted a little awkwardly attempting to get more comfortable, _"Yeah. Must have hit some mud or something and skidded."_

JJ frowned at the explanation, but Garcia remained oblivious, all her attention on her friend clearly in some discomfort.

"Oh well." Emily started, "I just knew something would get in the way of our break." She sighed defeated.

"_I can still come."_ Derek quickly responded.

"_Er I don't think so."_ Garcia interrupted, _"The doctors said you need bed rest."_

"_I can have bed rest in London."_ He stated, with a quick raise of the brow and half a smirk.

But when no response came to his attempt at suggestiveness, he looked around to the three women in turn, all of which had an unimpressed look that would turn milk sour. _"Gees you three need to lighten up."_ He continued, with a shake of the head.

"_And you need to be realistic, Morgan."_ JJ told him.

As he was about to protest once again, his attention, along with the two blondes was drawn to the other side of the room.

"_Ah Doctor."_ Garcia gleefully greeted, _"Your timing is impeccable."_

The tall fair haired man looked at them all with confusion_, "Really?"_ He said with a smile.

"_Yes. Could you please tell this one here."_ She began, pointing at Morgan, _"Whether or not it is ok to fly."_

The Doctor looked from the techie to Morgan and chuckled_, "Flying? No chance."_ He shook his head, _"Not for at least four weeks. And then you need to be given the all clear by a Doctor."_

"_But I'll be fine."_ The dark profiler argued, _"It's not like I have to do anything."_

"_It's the pressure in the cabin once you're at altitude. It's too dangerous with internal bleeding. You could set if off again."_

Hearing everything, Emily watched as Derek's head fell back against the pillow and he closed his eyes in frustration.

"Hey Derek." She whispered, "Look at me."

He opened his eyes, a wounded stare glaring back at her.

"It's ok." She attempted to reassure.

He shook his head, _"No it's not. I've ruined it."_

"It's not your fault."

"_Whatever."_ He began defeated, "_It doesn't matter whose fault it is. Fact is, I don't get to come over."_ He paused, letting out a sigh, _"I really wanted to see you."_

"Me too." She whispered, "We'll sort something out soon. I promise."

"_Yeah."_ He uttered, his face downtrodden. "I'm sorry Emily."

"Don't be sorry. Just get better ok? Do what the Doctor's say."

Has he looked at her she saw his eyes smile and a small chuckle fall from his mouth.

"What?" She asked.

"_This coming from the worse patient known to medicine."_

She gave a slightly embarrassed smile, "Well we're not talking about me. Just do what they say."

"_Yes ma'am." _He winked.

She gave a quick raise of the brow, their private joke lost on the audience they had forgotten they had.

"Well, I should go now. I'm back in work first thing." She told him.

"_Ok baby. Get some rest and call me tomorrow."_

"Bye Derek." She whispered, "Bye JJ. Bye Garcia." She called out.

"_Bye Emily."_ They both sang out in unison.

"I love you." She mouthed towards him.

"_Love you two."_ He whispered, kissing the tip of two of his fingers then placing them to the screen.

~~CM~~

"Ok guys." Emily puffed, rushing into the briefing room. "Sorry I'm late. Late night."

She sat down at the head of the table, her team looking back to her.

"Right." She said with a tired smile, "Let's get on with it. Hannah, how is the intelligence report coming on?"

"Fine." The younger, blond officer answered, "Just need to finish collating Alex and Martin's intel and it's ready to go."

"Where are they?" Daniel asked.

"They called me half hour ago." Emily told him, "They've got one last lead to follow up. They'll be back in later this morning."

Daniel nodded in understanding.

"Ok." The brunette smiled, turning to the officer at the other side of the table, "Are the safe houses all set up for the next phase Justin?"

"Yep." The fair haired man said, leaning back in his chair, "As soon as we're ready to go, it's just one phone call."

"Ok. Well thanks for all your hard work over the last couple of weeks. If we can finish all this paperwork in the next couple of days, we all get that week off ready to start the next phase in the new year so I suggest we get on with it."

A loud exhale of breath could be heard from across the room and Emily smiled as Justin slumped in his chair.

"Thank god for that." He said, "I never thought I'd be getting any time with my kids this Christmas."

"Lucky you." Hannah responded, a little sulkiness in her voice.

"What's up with you?" Justin asked her.

"Steven is making me go to his parent's place in the country." She shook her head, "Ugh… My idea of living hell."

"What would you rather be doing?" Emily asked chuckling, the younger woman reminding her of herself a little.

"Er partying of course." She said with a childlike tone, "We live in one of the best cities in the world and he wants to spend New Years at one with nature." She said with a roll of the eyes.

Emily laughed as Justin sat forward and leant his elbows on the table, "So what about you Daniel. What you up to?"

He shrugged, "Probably just go over to my mate's place."

"Have you seriously not got yourself a woman yet?" Justin replied with an unimpressed shake of the head, "How long's it been since Katy?"

"End of conversation Justin." Daniel said with a raise of the brow, pointing to the door.

The two younger officers laughed and stood up, continuing their banter as they left the room.

Once they were out of earshot, Daniel looked at his boss who was straightening up her files.

"How's Derek?" He asked, catching her eye and giving her a warm smile.

She nodded, "Yeah. He's gonna be ok."

"That's good. So why don't you look so happy?"

"He can't come over. He's not allowed to fly." She explained.

"Well, we've got a week off. Can't you go over?"

She shook her head, "No flights on Thursday through Saturday. All booked up for the New Year. Going any later than that would be pointless."

"Did you check flights for the next two days?" He asked.

She frowned, "I can't. We're working."

"Emily. All we're doing is paperwork. You don't need to be here to do that. Check the flights." He insisted.

"I can't do that."

"Yes you can. You can sign reports off on email. If we need any signatures, I can do it as acting unit head."

"I dunno." She said with a little trepidation.

"Here." He said pushing his laptop towards. "Look at flights for the next couple of days. Once we get into the next phase of this, you won't be able to go for another few weeks."

She took a breath and her chest rose before a small grateful smile formed on her lips, "Thanks." She uttered.

~~CM~~

The following day, she stood over the sink, splashing cold water over her freshly clean skin, massaging her cheeks and then her tired eyes. She dabbed her face dry with the dark brown, fluffy bath towel and then tiptoed into the bedroom, freshly showered, wearing an above the knee length ivory silk slip.

Feeling her presence, he turned his head to face the doorway and opened his eyes.

"Hey. What you got there?" He asked, spying a large brown bag dangling from her fingers.

She smiled, but did not answering, just continuing to stare him in the eyes as she made her way to the bed and crawled onto it, kneeling next to him.

"Well?" He raised his brow.

"Presents." She said holding up the bag in front of her.

His smile formed into a grin, and he slowly took the bag from her, balancing the handle on one finger and putting it back down on the bed next to her, earning a frown.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to open them." She told him.

"After." He whispered.

"After what?" She asked with a raise of her brow.

He didn't answer, just placed one hand on both of her hips, letting his hands trace along the silk fabric, the whole time his eyes not wavering from hers.

Placing her hands atop his, she held them in place, "Uh uh." She shook her head, "We can't do that. You're not well." She said with a wry smile.

He widened eyes, giving her the look of a puppy waiting for it's dinner.

"No." She said firmly, shaking her head. "The Doctor said…."

"C'mon on." He uttered, "I know you'll be gentle."

H then winked, edging himself a little closer.

She gave a small chuckle and then released her grip of his hands, reaching for the bag once again.

"Presents first." She told him, offering the bag.

"Ok." He sighed, "If you insist."

She watched as he reached in and pulled out two very different shaped parcels, both wrapped in glossy red paper.

"Which one first?" He asked.

"The bigger one." She said, nodding towards the soft, square shaped gift.

He took care pealing the paper apart at the seams and she held back telling him to just rip it open.

When eventually the package was unwrapped, he smiled at what he saw, "The new Bears jersey?" He said, without having to unfold the material, recognising the emblem straight away.

"Yeah." She muttered, "But open it up."

He picked the fabric up by the shoulders, and as he did something fell into his lap.

"What's this?" He asked, reaching for the item.

She just nodded, encouraging him to examine it.

She saw him swallow hard as he realised what it was….. A miniature version of his dark blue jersey.

"Emily." He whispered, "This is awesome."

"Look at the back." She urged.

He turned the tiny garment around and smiled at the number '1' printed in white in the centre of the shirt and 'DADDY' in an arc written above it.

"Now have a look at yours." She directed.

He eyed her with a small suspicious smirk as he lifted his jersey up and turned it around.

"Singletary." He read. "He _was_ number fifty." He told her.

"I got it right then…. Mike Singletary. He was your favourite player right?"

"Yeah he was." He muttered a little taken aback, "He was my hero growing up."

"I know." She began a little awkwardly, lightly biting down on her bottom lip, "And I know you're going to be this little one's hero." She said, placing a palm gently on her tummy, "That's why that says what it says." She nervously nodded towards the small jersey.

He smiled and took hold of one of her hands, "I love it Emily." He whispered.

"Well I just wanted you to know, that whether this is a little girl or little boy, I'm happy for you to inflict this or any other sport on our child."

"Inflict?" He laughed, "You hate the game that much eh?"

"Well I can't say I hate it. I don't know anything about football. You know that."

"Well may be I should just get you one of these too and we can drag you along with us."

"Nah ah." She uttered with a shake of the head, "The only time you're getting me in one of those, is when I'm wearing yours….." She paused, a wicked grin forming on her lips, "And nothing else." She winked, her voice low and like velvet.

"Oh really." He smiled, taking both her hands in his guiding her towards him.

"Yes. Really." She whispered as she straddled his hips.

He took hold of the dark blue jersey and held it in front of her, "How about we christen this one then?" He grinned.

She nodded slowly, "But gently." She said softly, gripping the hem of her silk slip and pulling it over her head, revealing her naked body all but a pair of cream lace panties.

He stared in wonder at her form. It was beautiful. Her ivory skin flawless, the old scar barely even noticeable to him anymore and the small bump seeming to make her even more beautiful. He ran his hands gently up her thighs and let them rest on her hips as she took the jersey from upon his chest and lifted her arms, sliding the jersey over them and onto her bare flesh.

Bending down, she paused, just a breath away from him and smiled, before letting their lips meet, kissing him softly and warmly.

"Wait a minute." His words muffled as their lips were still united, "I've got another present."

"After." She mumbled, not breaking the kiss, and closing her eyes as she felt his strong fingers trace their way along her skin and under the jersey.

She melted into him as he explored her body under the fabric and eventually came to rest at the top of her panties. As she felt him tug at the lace, she suddenly pulled away.

"What?" He asked, unable to hide his frustration.

"Hang on." She breathed quickly, manoeuvring herself off him and hopping off the bed. He frowned as she picked up the miniature jersey and quickly walked out of the room.

"What on earth are you doing?" He asked as she came back in the room hurriedly.

"It didn't feel right." She said, shaking her head, retaking her position sat upon him.

"What didn't feel right?"

She shrugged sheepishly earning a chuckle from him, "You didn't wanna do the deed with the baby's jersey in here did you?"

She pressed her lips together as she shook her head.

"Come here…." He whispered, pulling her down onto him slowly by her arms, "You're an adorable fool sometimes, you know that?" He winked.

Her face lit up as she lightly laughed, her eyes looking downward with a little embarrassment, but they quickly shot up as she felt his warm lips connect with hers.

Letting him taste her for just a few seconds, she pulled away from him and sat up straight, grasping the base of the jersey.

As she went to pull the material upwards, his hands fell upon her wrists, preventing them from moving any further.

"Uh uh." He uttered, with a slow shake of the head, "Leave that on."

"Really?" She murmured, with a quick raise of the brow.

"Yeah." He said, his hands wandering back underneath the fabric, "These however….." He concluded with a tug on the lace panties and a large grin…

**Ok, I'm really sorry that was so short, but I hope it will do for a few days ;) Thanks for all your support.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey folks… so sorry for the delay in posting this… Life got in the way… how rude! ;) Thanks for your continued support and patience…. Hope you enjoy.**

She had left the bed twice that day so far, the first time to get a drink, the second to get food. He had only moved once to use the bathroom. After a morning of eating a little, talking a little, laughing a little and lazy fooling around, they lay sprawled on his bed, naked atop the sheets, dozing into the afternoon.

He opened one eye slowly, then the next, as he heard the door bell ring out downstairs and let out a little groan.

"You expecting anyone?" She asked sleepily, lifting her head slightly to look at him.

He shook his head with a small shrug, "Uh uh."

With a quiet sigh, she grappled the sheet that was tangled around her feet off her and slid off the bed, "Where's my stuff?" She asked looking around the room.

"Don't know." He muttered, unable to take his eyes off her tiny naked baby bump. "Here." He reached sidewards, not removing his gaze. "Put this on." He said throwing her the Bears jersey she had given him as a gift the night before.

She quickly slipped the shirt over her head and retrieved her panties from the floor, threading her legs through the material hastily.

"Just tell them '_not today_." He called to her as she scurried out of the room.

"Ok, coming." She yelled, as the door bell rang once again just as she hit the bottom step.

Grabbing for the handle, she undid the top dead lock and then positioned herself behind the door as she opened it in an attempt to hide her naked legs.

"Emily?" The woman said with some surprise.

Emily suddenly fully awoke as the cold air hit her face and she recognised the woman in front of her. She gulped and gripped the door a little tighter, then feeling an immediate hot flush in her face.

"Mrs Morgan." She chuckled nervously, noticing the two younger women standing behind, staring wide eyed at her. "I didn't know you were coming."

"No it was a surprise for Derek." Fran Morgan smiled.

"Oh right." Emily nodded, her eyes widening, pressing her lips together in a half smile.

The two women stood in silence and Fran Morgan's brow raised as she stared at the brunette.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry. You must think I'm so rude." Emily shook her head, scolding herself inside, "Come in." She said, taking a step backwards and opening the door further.

She quickly ran her hands over her hair in an attempt to calm the 'dragged through a hedge backwards' look and shut the door as the three women set their bags down in the hallway. As they turned to look at her, her feet shuffled on the cold floor and she pulled down on the hem of the dark blue jersey, trying to cover up as much as she could of her bare thighs.

"We thought we'd come and see Derek and give him a bit of TLC after his accident." The older woman began, sensing Emily's awkwardness, "He was so disappointed he couldn't get to London to see you, but obviously…." Fran nodded slightly towards Emily.

"Yeah, I thought I'd surprise him too." She muttered sheepishly.

"And it doesn't look our brother is _too_ badly injured." Desiree snorted, raising her eyebrows looking Emily up and down.

"Shhhh." Sarah nudged her sister, "Sorry about her." She looked back to Emily, "She doesn't have much of a filter."

"What?" the younger woman protested, "Derek is clearly ok if he's getting jiggy in the afternoon."

Emily's eyes widened and now she could feel the heat rising through her body and her face burning up from the embarrassment.

"Desiree that's enough." Fran Morgan scolded. "Sorry Emily, we didn't mean to intrude."

"No. No you didn't." She insisted, shaking her head, "We were just sleeping." She said, unable to get the words out fast enough, "I'm pretty tired form the jet lag and Derek was keeping me company and this is making me tired too and…." She uttered, the words trailing off as she placed her hand on her tummy.

"No I didn't mean that." Fran chuckled, trying to put Emily at ease, "I meant for turning up at all. If we'd of known you were here…." She paused, "Well I know your time together is precious."

"Don't be silly." The brunette shook her head, "Derek's going to be really pleased you're here."

Desiree leant towards her sister and mumbled under her breath out of the corner of her mouth, "I doubt he's gonna be _that_ pleased to see us, do you?" She ended with a quick raise of on eyebrow, eying Emily up and down.

Sarah couldn't help but let out a small laugh and caught the eye of Emily who lightly laughed back with knowing warming eyes.

"I'll just go get him." She smiled, about to turn, but she halted, recalling her state of undress.

She took a shifty step to the side and pulled down once again on the jersey, "Um, do you want to wait in the sitting room whilst I go up?"

"Of course." Fran smiled, ushering her daughters into the room off the hallway.

Emily ran up the stairs, shaking her head with a smirk as she heard the giggles of Desiree and the 'shhhhh's' of Fran and Sarah echoing throughout the hallway, following her on to the landing.

"Who is it?" He asked tiredly, as she shuffled into the room, the smirk still on her lips.

"It's your mom and sisters." She whispered.

"What?" He said with a confused frown, sitting himself up.

"Yeah, they thought they'd surprise you." She told him, sitting on the bed next to him, "And now they think we've been at it all morning." She laughed with a roll of the eyes.

A big smile crept across his face, "Why?"

"Er, look at me." She said pointing her finger up and down her body.

"Well." He whispered, reaching over and snaking his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him, "They're not really wrong are they?" He winked.

"Derek." She quietly protested, letting her head fall back slightly as he lightly kissed her neck, "You have to get up and go down to them."

"Mmmm" He mumbled, his hands creeping under the shirt.

"Derek." She said more firmly, placing her hands on his and removing them from her waist, "Stop it." She said with wide eyes, looking into his.

He gave a mock pout before smiling, "Ok." He uttered. "I'll get up."

"Where are _you_ going?" He asked as she tiptoed across the wooden floor, stripping herself of the jersey as she did.

"For a shower." She called back, turning and throwing the shirt at him.

~~CM~~

As she walked down the stairs she could hear the warm laughter and excited voices of the little family in Derek's sitting room. She paused outside and listened to the two sisters tease their older brother and the protective mother attempting to stop them, but unable to prevent her own ripple of laughter.

She took a breath….. She was nervous. She had not seen these ladies for a few years, apart from Sarah more recently, and of course that was not in the best of circumstances.

"Hey." Derek smiled, his eyes lighting up as she walked in to the room.

He fumbled to stand up and hobbled over to her, grimacing from the pain as he did, then snaking an arm round her waist.

"I guess introductions aren't needed." He said looking from Emily to his family.

"Of course not." Fran said waving her son away, and making her way over to Emily. "I guess it's ok to say a proper hello now you're dressed." She smiled, taking the brunette into a hug.

Emily melted into the woman's embrace, as the relief at her apparent acceptance of the situation and Fran felt it immediately, squeezing a little more tightly before she pulled away slightly and held Emily's wrists out to the side, inspecting the tiny bump. "I can't believe I finally have a grandbaby growing in there." She smiled, shaking her head.

"You certainly do." Emily chuckled, "I'm guessing Derek showed you the picture?"

"Showed her the picture?" Desiree piped up from behind her mother, "He made a copy for each of us and mama's is now on the refrigerator, knocking my graduation picture off centre spot."

Emily looked around Fran to see Desiree wink at her.

"Sorry." Emily playfully grimaced.

"Nah." Desiree scrunched up her nose, "Best news we've had in years. Never thought my big bro would manage it though."

"Hey!" Derek protested, giving his sister his best unimpressed look.

"Ignore those two." Sarah smiled warmly, moving forward to take her turn in hugging the slightly overwhelmed brunette, "Congratulations Emily." She whispered.

"Ok." Fran began, grasping her hands in front of her, "How about you and me go do some shopping Emily? Get you some peace from this mad house." Fran winked.

"Er, sure." Emily replied with a slightly surprised smile, "What we going shopping for?"

"Well, I know food has probably been the last thing on your mind since you got here…."

"Mama!" Derek exclaimed as Desiree sniggered and Sarah shook her head with a smirk.

"As I was saying." Fran continued, "I've checked his cupboards and quite frankly, I'm pretty horrified, so we're going food shopping. I thought I'd do us a Christmas dinner seeing as I'm sure you both didn't have one."

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Derek grinned.

"Yeah, I'd say it's a good job it's your mama cooking the dinner and not me." Emily chuckled, "Or you may give this relationship thing a second thought."

The dark profiler smiled at her and bore his eyes into hers, "Not a chance." He muttered.

Emily smiled back at him as Desiree rolled her eyes, "Jeez, get a room you two." She tutted.

"Girl, you are lucky I have a bad leg and you can move faster than me right now." Derek told his sister.

~~CM~~

The two women walked side by side through the shopping arcade.

"There's a nice food store at the end of here." Emily said, pointing along the busy aisle, full of shoppers looking for bargains in the post Christmas sales.

"As long as it sells turkey gravy, Derek will be happy. Can't do beef you know." The older woman said with a mock raise of the brow.

"I'll remember that." Emily chuckled, "There is something I want to try though."

"What's that?"

"Pigs in blankets."

Fran scrunched up her nose, "Hotdogs?"

"No." Emily laughed, "The day after Christmas day one of my team, in London, bought some leftovers their family sent in from their Christmas dinner. There were these little sausages wrapped in bacon. I tried one and the first thing I thought was that Derek would love them….."

Her words trailed off as she remembered that day and she stared blankly ahead lost in thought. She hadn't felt much like eating that day knowing Derek was lay in that hospital bed, but Daniel had insisted.

She snapped out of her trance as she felt the light touch of Fran Morgan's hand on her wrist, "You ok?" She asked gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded, forcing a smile.

"Tell you what." Fran began, gently tugging on Emily's wrist, "Let's go for coffee. I could do with some caffeine. It's been a long day."

~~CM~~

"Two coffees please." Fran said to the waitress as they took their seat opposite each other in the booth, tucked away in the corner of the café.

Emily held up a hand, "Er, you better make one a decaf."

The younger woman caught the eye of Fran as she stared at her with a knowing smile, "Derek?" She asked.

Emily smiled back then looked down at the table with shy eyes, "Yeah. He's always going on at me about what I eat and drink."

"Sounds like my Derek."

"Don't tell him, but if I'm honest, it probably does me good to have him nagging at me about this stuff. You have no idea how tempting a dose of caffeine is at times."

"Oh I do." Fran told her, "When I was pregnant with Sarah and I had a two year old Derek running round, I could have done with a stiff whisky most days, never mind a coffee."

"He was a bit of a handful eh?" Emily chuckled.

"Yes. But luckily, Derek's father was around to remind me too that I should stay off anything like that."

Emily's smile faded, but she attempted to maintain it, it naturally forming into a sorry expression.

"It's ok." Fran smiled warmly, "I _can_ talk about him. I'm not saying it doesn't make me sad, but I like remembering him."

"How did you do it?" Emily almost whispered.

"Do what?"

"Bring up three children on your own."

Fran pressed her lips together, with contemplative eyes and a small shake of the head, "It wasn't easy and I know I made mistakes along the way, but you find a way to make it work. You have to."

"They all turned out real good. You must be proud."

"I am." Fran uttered, then tilting her head to one side, examining the woman sat in front of her, looking like a frightened little girl, "What's up Emily?" She asked gently.

She shook her head, the corners of her lips slightly upturned, "Nothing."

"Emily. It's ok to be scared you know. That's natural. Every woman goes through the same thing."

The brunette bit her bottom lip and looked the older woman opposite her in the eyes. She could see the years of experience, love, hurt, pain, joy behind those eyes and there was so much warmth…. A warmth that made her feel safe and comforted even though she really didn't know her that well at all.

She took a deep breath before answering, "When Derek was in that accident and I was waiting to hear if he was going to be ok…" She swallowed, "I was petrified. I don't want to do this alone."

Fran leant over the table seeing the tears well in Emily's big brown eyes and her facial muscles contract as she fought them back. The older woman placed her hand upon hers, "You don't have to." She whispered.

Emily felt the warmth from Fran seep through her pores and into her. She was Derek's mother, but she felt a natural affinity to this woman and she couldn't understand why.

As if she had read her mind, Fran nodded at Emily, letting her know it was ok to talk to her.

Emily gave her nervous, dry lips a quick lick before continuing. "He grounds me Fran. He makes me feel safe and I don't know what I'd do without him right now."

Fran Morgan gave her a warm smile, "You would be ok." Her voice was low and firm, "But he's ok so you don't have to worry about that….. and I _know_ he loves you. You're gonna be just fine. I know it."

"I'm not making it easy though am I?"

"Being in London you mean?"

Emily nodded, "We only just started and we're thousands of miles apart. I feel so guilty for putting him in this position. I know he's really frustrated with the whole thing."

"You could come back?" Fran uttered, a hint of hope in her tone for her son.

Emily couldn't hide the slight grimace.

"You don't want to?" Fran asked.

Emily paused and her throat rippled as she nervously gulped before answering. "I don't know." She almost whispered, "It's not that I don't want to be with Derek. I do more than anything, please believe that, it's just….."

The brunette paused feeling she'd said far too much already.

"It's just what?" Fran encouraged.

"It's just the place has a lot of memories."

"Bad ones?"

Emily nodded.

"Is that really selfish of me?"

The older woman shifted a little in her seat, feeling the trepidation in Emily's dark eyes that bore into her searching for answers.

"Listen." She began gently, "I'm gonna be totally honest with you. I'm sure that's what you want right?"

Emily nodded. "Absolutely." She said in a low tone.

"When Derek thought you were dead, I lost my son for seven months. He barely called. I didn't see him. And I get that. He was grieving and I guess still fighting for you. So when he called eventually and told me you were alive…" She hesitated, seeing the younger woman's eyes widen, the guilt already apparent in them, and she wondered if she should continue…. But she needed to hear this…. "When he told me you were alive, I was really angry. I hated what he'd gone through."

She stopped again as Emily's gaze fell downward, staring at the coffee going cold on the table in front of her.

"He couldn't tell me why you did what you did, but he told me that what you did do was for all the right reasons….. He told me it was selfless and it was to protect a whole lot of people you cared about. He told me you went through hell…" She sat forward, lowering her voice, ."…. all on your own. And he told me no one should ever have to be alone like that."  
"I'm sorry." Emily shook her head.

"You don't have to be sorry." Fran smiled, "Don't get me wrong. He _was_ angry. But not with you. Not in the slightest. That was enough for me. I trust my son's judgement. I always will."

Emily pursed her lips together, a lump painful in her throat as she fought back her tears, "So do you think I should come back?" She whispered, her words wavering as she struggled to stop herself from breaking.

Fran shook her head gently, "No. Not necessarily." She stated.

The brunette couldn't hide her confused frown as she examined the woman sat opposite her.

"Do you know why?" Fran asked.

Emily shrugged with the slightest shake of her head.

"Because I know that for you to leave all these people behind that you care about and go somewhere new, _on your own_," She emphasised, "you must have felt completely desperate."

Fran waited for Emily to respond, but nothing came, just a look of childlike bewilderment and the older woman knew that was enough for today.

"You two will figure this out. I know you will." She smiled warmly, "I know that he loves you. That's all that matters."

"I do love him too. I want you to know that." Emily told the woman. "I'd never hurt him on purpose."

"I can see that."

"You can?" She asked with surprise.

"Yes." Fran assured, "And I can't tell you how happy I am that you and that little one will be part of my family."

Emily smiled lightly at the older woman, "Thanks Fran. That means a lot."

~~CM~~

When they returned to Derek's place, the tired looks on the girls' faces helped them to the decision to make the belated Christmas dinner the following day. After a simple spaghetti bolognaise thrown together by Fran and Sarah, Emily and the girls left Derek and his mother in the kitchen as the brunette was lead off to face an interrogation by the sisters.

"Thanks mama." Derek uttered, sat at the kitchen table. "For everything. It's great seeing you all."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now." Fran said with genuine warmth.

Derek smiled and she saw a glaze creep across his eyes.

"You look happy son." She continued, sitting down next to him and taking hold of his hand.

"I am." He sighed, "But I still can' believe this is happening."

"What. You becoming a daddy?"

"Yeah." He chuckled, "Bet you really thought it would never happen."

"I dunno." She began, "To be honest, I couldn't see you _not_ being a dad. You deserve it Derek. And that child deserves you…. _Both of you_."

"Well, I just hope we get it right."

"Oh you will. I have no doubt about that." Fran winked.

"Thanks mama. But don't go complaining if we're ringing you every five minutes for advice when he or she gets here." He chuckled.

Fran smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way, but I think Emily is going to cope just fine."

"Try convincing her of that." He lightly laughed, "She seems more scared than me."

"Every new mom feels that way. But with you by her side, I'm sure she'll feel fine. You've gotta figure this out together. I have no idea how I would have felt without your father around."

"Yeah." He whispered

Fran watched as his smile faded, "So are you gonna ask her to come back?" She asked, a little trepidation in her tone.

Derek's eyes shot up to meet his mother's a little surprised by the question.

"I dunno mama." He said.

"What's stopping you?"

"She wasn't happy here before. Why would that change?"

"But things are different now…. She has you."

"She always had me." He muttered contemplatively.

Fran's lips curled up at the sides, as she gazed at her son, "Not like this Derek." She whispered. "I get the impression that Emily is not someone who lets anyone in easily, _or_ believes good things can happen to her."

Derek chuckled, "You've met her like a handful of times and you've sussed her out already haven't you?"

"It's called a mother's instinct Derek. That girl is screaming out for a mother's guidance and reassurance and I'm guessing she never really got that?"

"I dunno." He began, shaking his head frustratedly, "That relationship will always be a mystery to me."

"Well you've managed to do something I'm sure no one has for a long time. She's let you in."  
"I know." He nodded.

"You really need to talk about this with her. That baby isn't going to stay in there forever and you do realise it'll get to a time when she can't fly right?"

Derek exhaled a long sigh and his mother suddenly felt a pang of guilt bringing him down when she was supposed to be making him feel better.

"I'm sorry baby." She said softly, reaching over and rubbing the top of his arm, "Forget about that now. Enjoy the time you have left with her here and sort it out later. You can get over to London just as soon as you're better can't you?"

"Yeah." He smiled.

~~CM~~

It was late and the house appeared deathly quiet after the excitement and chatter of the night. They lay next to each other in silence, but both wide awake staring at the ceiling.

As she sensed his chest heave one more time she decided to break the apparent thick, tense air.

"You ok?" She asked gently, "You've been quiet all evening."

"Yeah I'm fine." He whispered unconvincingly.

"Liar." She muttered and he could hear the slight smirk in her voice.

He snaked his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him a little closer, "Seriously, I'm fine. Just a bit tired. My family are exhausting." He chuckled.

"Yeah." She whispered, "But they're great. You're lucky to have them."

"I know….. So you didn't mind the third degree from my sisters?"

"They certainly don't hold back." She laughed, "You _do not_ want to know the stuff they asked me."

She smiled as she pictured the horrified expression on his face right now.

A few seconds of silence passed before she wriggled away from him and pushed her body up so she was balanced on her forearm.

"What?" He half smiled as she stared at him, her face partly lit by the moonlight streaming in through the blinds.

"I've been thinking." She said.

"About what?"

"About what we should do."

"Has my mother been talking to you?" He asked with a suspicious dip of his brow.

"Well yeah, but it's not like we don't need to talk about this."

"I guess." He shrugged.

"You don't want to?"

"I just know it's going to be difficult, that's all." He sighed.

"May be not." She stated.

"Go on."

She took a deep breath and he saw her chest rise and fall heavily, "I'm gonna come back here."

His eyes widened in surprise, "Really?"

"It doesn't make sense to stay in London right? I mean, I'm going to be off for a while on maternity leave. You'd have to get a job over there. Not to mention you'd have to leave a job you love here and your friends and family. It just seems ridiculous to contemplate that kind of move and….."

She halted as she watched his mouth slowly open a little more each second as she babbled on.

"What?" She asked him.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am."

"But _you_ love your job over there. What are you going to do back here?"

"I dunno." She shrugged as she lay back down into the crook of his arm, "I can figure that out later. If I'm honest, I've got enough money to not have to work for a while."

"And you'd be ok with that?" She missed his throat ripple as he swallowed and a mixture of relief and slight trepidation crept across his face.

"Derek I don't know all those answers right now. But I'm saying I'll come back."

He pulled his arm out from under her and turned to face her, her mirroring his move naturally.

"Are you sure?" He whispered, tracing one hand along her forehead and down her cheek.

She pressed her lips together in a tiny smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell Clyde in a few weeks when he's back from Germany."

"You think he'll be ok?"

She shrugged, "He'll have to be."

He stared and watched as her dark eyes smiled back at him, "Thank you." He uttered as he leant in and kissed her lips gently. "I just wanna make sure we do the right thing."

"And I just want you with me Derek. I don't wanna be on my own anymore." She said, her voice shaking as she held the niggling anxiety and fear in.

"Hey." He emphasised, stroking her cheek with the back of one finger, "You are _not_ on your own and you never will be…. _Where ever_ I am." He assured.

"I know." She smiled, "But I just want you here." She said, wrapping her arms around his waist and nuzzling into his chest.

She felt him gently kiss the crown of her head as he gripped her tightly and she wasn't sure if she heard him say _'I love you'_, or she just felt it, but either way, she knew she didn't want to leave those arms again.

**To be continued….**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for the continued support and reviews as always….. Sorry for the long wait… I got caught up in other stories and some personal stuff going on…. But here is the next chapter. Hope you like it.**

He took a deep breath, his eyes still closed, and reached his arm out to the side. He frowned when all he felt was the cold, exposed sheet. Turning his head to the side on the soft pillow, he opened one eye and saw the empty space next to him.

"Emily?" He called out, his voice tired and raspy, still bathed in sleep.

He lay there for a short while, listening to the quiet of the house and allowing himself to wake up a little more, but the silence was eventually broken by the sound of a kitchen cupboard door slamming shut.

He tossed the sheet off him and pulled some joggers on, then making his way down the stairs carefully on his crutches.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he hobbled in to the kitchen, spying her stood up against the work surface with her back to him, dressed in just her knee length ivory silk robe.

"Making pancakes." She told him without turning round.

"Pancakes eh?" He smiled, placing the crutches to the side and snaking his arms around her waist so his naked torso was pressed against her back.

"Yeah." She uttered with a contemplative smile, cocking her head to one side as she stirred the mixture, "Thought I'd treat you before I left."

He turned his head so his face was snuggled in her hair and inhaled her sweet scent, "Do you _have_ to go back to London? I could get used to this." He sighed.

"Yes." She whispered sorrily, "I don't want to though." She added, turning her head to place a small but warm kiss on his forehead.

"So don't go then." He offered.

She exhaled a breathy chuckled, "That simple eh? I think someone may notice."

"They'll cope." He mockingly waved away.

"I'm glad you think I'm so unimportant that they don't need me." She scolded playfully.

"No." He said removing one hand from her tummy and reaching for the spoon in her hand, "I just need you more." He uttered.

"What _are_ you doing?" She frowned as her took the spoon out of her grasp and moved the bowl out of her reach.

He then slipped one hand underneath the silk robe she had loosely tied around her waist.

"What about the breakfast?" She half protested, a slight giggle in her tone.

"It can wait." He mumbled into her skin as he placed tiny kisses up and down her long neck. "We've three days left until you have to go back to London and I don't intend wasting any of them."

"I can see that." She smiled as his hand brushed her skin just above her waist.

"Yeah." He breathed, distracted, tugging at the robe's belt lightly, but just enough for it to fall to the ground causing the fabric to separate.

She twisted around so she was facing him and grinned as he pushed the silk off her shoulders leaving her naked all but a pair of cream silk panties.

She rested her arms across his shoulders and wound her hand around his neck, "Derek Morgan." She began, placing a kiss to his lips, "What _are_ you doing?"

"Finishing off what you started this morning." He uttered, with a quick raise of his brow.

"I don't know what you mean." She smiled coyly.

"Miss Prentiss." He said, tracing his hands downwards and letting his palms rest upon the plump flesh of her bottom. "You gave me a pretty rude awakening if I remember correctly. And believe me, I won't be forgetting that any time soon."

She bit her bottom lip and looked downward shyly, "I hate it when I'm awake and you're asleep so I just wanted to wake you."

"Well it did the trick." He chuckled lightly, "You are a wicked woman." He said pressing his lips to hers much more firmly, "Don't ever change." He uttered before hooking a hand under one of her thighs, and raising her leg, wrapping it around his hip.

"Good job your family left this morning." She laughed.

"They didn't." His words muffled.

She placed her hands suddenly on his shoulders and pushed him away, "What?" she exclaimed.

"Why did you think I didn't wake you in the middle of the night?"

Her eyes widened and she stared at him for a couple of seconds before ducking down to pick up her silk robe from the floor, holding it over her naked form.

"I can't believe you let me…."

She stopped as she saw him trying desperately to stop the smirk creeping across his lips.

"They did go didn't they?" She said, playfully slapping his chest with her palm.

"Of course they went." He chuckled, "But your face was a picture just then."

"Very funny Derek." She scolded, "And you should of woken me before they left."

He prised the silk fabric out of her hands and let if fall to the floor once again, "You were dead to the world." He muttered, replacing his hands around her waist and nuzzling into her neck, "And you said your goodbyes last night."

"Yeah, I know but…."

She gave up talking as his nifty fingers worked their way under the fabric of her panties and took to work.

About half an hour later, he was laid back on his sofa, gently stroking her hair as she dozed atop him, her head against his chest.

"What?" She uttered, sensing the big smile that was now painted on his face.

"As much as I loved having my family here, I am _so_ glad to finally have the place to ourselves."

She lightly chuckled, "Yeah. It was good seeing them though."

"You mean you _actually_ enjoyed having my family here?"

"Of course. Why are you so surprised?" She asked.

"Well, you're just so…"

"What?" She protested, lifting her head to look his in the eyes, "Anti social?"

He could hear her tone change and see the mix of defence and disappointment in her stare.

"No." He tutted, "I was going to say independent. I just didn't think you'd be one for enjoying having the in laws around."

"Well…" She began, laying her head back on his chest, "Your family are different."

"Different how?"

She paused momentarily, "Well they're probably not different. They're probably normal. Just not what I'm used to."

He chuckled, "You think my family are normal?"

"I don't know…. But whatever they are, it's good being around them. I can't even think about spending that kind of time with my family without wanting to drown myself in a bottle of whisky."

"What about when the baby comes? You're gonna wanna see your family then right?"

He felt her shrug, "My mother isn't exactly the gooey type over babies. I'm sure she'll be pleased…. Actually, more relieved that her only daughter is finally doing something _normal_. But I don't think she'll be around much. She's married to her job."

He lay a hand gently atop her head, "You never know." He stared, stroking lightly, "She may surprise you."

He felt her warm breath brush his skin as she half laughed, "Yeah, I doubt that…. It's ironic really though."

"What is?"

"Your family, who would be all over this baby, are hundreds of miles away and my family, who we'll probably see once a month at best, will be round the corner."

"Hmmmm…" He mused, but his thought was broken by the sound of his cell ringing out.

He reached down to the floor, and retrieved it from the pocket of his joggers that were left in a heap on the floor.

He looked at the screen before answering;

"Hey Rossi."

"_How are you Morgan?"_

"I'm good. _Very_ good. You?"

The older profiler could hear the smile in Derek's tone and silently chuckled, _"I'm good thanks. So, do you and Emily have plans for tomorrow night?"_

"Tomorrow night?"

"_Morgan, it's new years eve. I know you took a knock to the head but…"_

"Oh sorry man, of course."

"_I guess you're a little distracted."_ Rossi stated, hearing a light chuckle from his team mate at the other end, "_So I take it you don't have any plans?"_

"No."

"_Good. Well I'm going to a charity dinner for Veterans and a bunch of tickets have become available last minute. All the team are coming. Do you two fancy it?"_

"I'll check with Emily, but I'm sure she'll be up for that."

"_There'll be good food, good wine and dancing. It'll be a nice night…. And it's for charity." _He stressed.

"Ok. You've sold it Rossi. Thanks for inviting us."

"_It'll be good to see you both."_

"You too Rossi. See you tomorrow."

Emily lifted her head up and balanced her chin on his chest as he placed the cell back on the floor, "What did Rossi want?"

"To invite us to a dinner tomorrow for New Years Eve."

He watched as her face scrunched up and he then tweaked a lock of her hair that was at the side of his face, "It's for charity." He bargained. "And everyone's going."

She exhaled a laboured sigh, "Ok." She conceded, beginning to lay her head back down, but in a split second lifted it again. "But I have nothing to wear."

"I'm sure you'll have something."

"No. If this is one of Rossi's events, it will be black tie and fancy dresses. I need a fancy dress. I haven't bought anything like that with me."

He raised his brow and without answering her, lifted his cell once again and pressed the screen.

"_Morgan?"_

"Yeah baby girl. How you doing?"

"_Super. More importantly how is my damaged chocolate lollipop?"_

He chuckled upon seeing Emily roll her eyes, as she heard their friend at the other end. "I'm great Garcia."

"_Of course you are. Who wouldn't be having the delicious Emily Prentiss on tap? I want details by the way."_

"Yeah, I'm not sure about that, but anyway, have you got any plans for today?"

"_Me and Kevin are having a DVD day. Why what's up?"_

"Just wondering if you could spare an hour or so to go with Emily to buy a dress for tomorrow night, but if you're busy it really doesn't matter."

"_Dress shopping with Emily? You bet I can go…. Oh and if you think it's gonna take an hour, you can think again buddy."_

"Ok." He chuckled, "Thank you."

"_No probs. I'll call JJ too."_ She said excitedly, "_Tell Em I'll pick her up in a couple of hours."_

"I will. Thanks Penelope."

He cut the call off and placed his cell on the floor next to the sofa, raising his eyebrows with a smile, "Sorted."

"You think I can't dress shop on my own?"

"Oh no. I think you can, however one, you will enjoy it more with JJ and Garcia. Two, you'll think you look fat in everything, which you'll look nothing of the sort and you need those two to tell you how beautiful you look, and three, you miss them and they miss you so it's an opportunity to spend time with them."

She stared at him for a few seconds and then a smile danced upon her lips, "Ok." She uttered, "And thank you."

~~CM~~

It was late at night. The room was dark but for the glitter ball lights and the glow surrounding the five piece jazz band at one end of the dance floor. At the other end, the profilers of the BAU and their respective guests were sat around two large round tables, all relaxed from the copious amounts of beautiful food and some a little giddy from the wine.

Derek slouched in his seat, top button undone with his bad leg outstretched in front of him with Emily sat next to him talking to JJ.

They were interrupted as Rossi came to stand in front of them;

"Can I borrow her for a dance?" The older profiler asked Derek, holding his hand out to the brunette.

Derek smiled from his team mate to Emily, "Of course. I can't exactly fulfil my dancing duties tonight." He said glancing down to his leg.

"Too bad mister." Rossi winked, "Your loss is my gain."

"What's Strauss gonna say about that?" Derek laughed, he and Emily never missing the opportunity to tease the older man about that relationship.

"You wanna be careful Morgan. You may not get this one back." He said nodding towards Emily, "Remember, I was wooing the first future ex misses Rossi whilst you were in diapers boy."

Derek laughed and held his hands up in surrender to Rossi as Emily rolled her eyes, "Ok, enough of the testosterone guys." She said, leaning over and placing one hand on Derek's knee, kissing him sweetly on the cheek, "Be back soon." She whispered, standing up.

"You better be." He replied with a wink.

"So." Rossi began, as he slowly motioned her around the dance floor, "You happy?"

She pressed her lips together, subduing a smile, "Yeah." She uttered.

"You look happy." He told her.

She smiled and glanced back momentarily to Derek who sat deep in conversation with Hotch.

"Honestly?" She said looking back to the older man, "I can't believe this is happening."

"Neither can any of us." Rossi chuckled.

"Oi." She playfully protested as he released his grip of one hand and twirled her around and under his arm.

"But seriously." Rossi uttered, placing his free hand back around her waist, "I'm so happy for you both, but I know this can't be easy."

"It isn't." She conceded, "But there's no other option than to make it work. Him not being a part of this is inconceivable."

Rossi nodded, raising an understanding brow, "I don't think he would let that happen. I don't think you know how much he loves you."

"I do." She stressed.

"Do you know how long he's loved you?"

She shook her head with a shrug.

"All I can tell you is that from the moment joined this team, I could see it. Only problem was you two being too stubborn for your own good."

"Oh really?" She smirked.

"Yes really, but I am a believer in fate. I always knew it would happen one day."

She just smiled at him sweetly and let him glide her around the floor, until she asked him to take her back to Derek.

"What's the matter?" The dark profiler asked as she walked towards him, her face pale and Rossi's concerned arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing really. I just feel a bit sick."

"You think you can hold out till midnight?" Rossi asked, "It's just a few minutes away."

She looked at him with sorry eyes and shook her head, then turned back to Derek with an expectant stare.

"Ok." He said softly, placing one hand on her back and reaching for his crutches with the other, "Let's go outside. Get some fresh air."

She nodded and turned, leading them both out of the grand room and out into the cold night air.

She put one hand against the bare brick wall and hunched over, taking in deep breaths.

"You ok?" He asked gently, slipping his jacket off and placing it over her shoulders.

"Yeah." She whispered, standing upright and turning to face him, "I think it was just a little hot in there."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Ok, we'll just give it a few minutes out here."

"Sorry."

"Hey, don't be silly." He said, reaching his arm out to her and pulling her into him, "I'm happy right here."

She smiled into his chest and closed her eyes as she felt his lips press against her hair. They remained like that for a short while and she almost began to drift away but her eyes shot open as she heard the band begin their next song.

"Oh, I love this song." mumbled into him.

"You do?" He asked, his voice barely a murmur.

She nodded.

"Well in that case…." He said, prising their bodies apart, removing the crutches from underneath his arms and placing them against the wall.

"What are you doing?" She asked, a small inquisitive frown across her forehead.

"We're dancing." He said, slipping an arm around her waist and under the jacket, taking her hand in his and holding it to his chest…. just as he did those few months ago.

"But what about your leg."

"Shhhh." He hushed, placing a soft kiss to her lips, "I'll live." He whispered.

She smiled at him then let her head fall upon his shoulder, wrapping her free arm around his back and holding on to him… just as she did those few months ago.

As they swayed slowly to the dim sound of the music, both could not help but let their mind wander forward to a few days ahead…. They'd be apart again. They wouldn't just be able to reach out and touch one another, the tiniest amount of contact, seemingly making everything feel better at times. He wouldn't be there to rub her back gently when she felt sick. She wouldn't be there to brush the side of his face with the back of her hand and smile at him to make him feel better after a bad case. He wouldn't be there to hold her all night long… or in the morning…. Or the afternoon…. Or anytime. Just like he did now. There would be nothing for weeks…

So as the music stopped, she held onto him a little tighter, letting him know she wasn't ready to let go and they could both hear the voices of the people inside as they began the countdown to midnight.

They didn't move until they heard the cheers and the bangs from the party poppers as the clock struck midnight.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"What for?" She asked, pulling away just slightly so she could see his face.

He smiled and took both of her hands in his, staring into her eyes, "I know that this year is going to be the best of my life…. Where ever in the world we are…. And that's because of you."

"I didn't do anything." She uttered.

"Yes you did. This could have turned out a whole many different ways, but it turned out this way… and it's perfect."

"Really?"

"Yes really." He told her, closing the gap and placing a soft kiss to her lips. "Em, we're never going to be normal are we?"

Her smile widened, "I guess not….. and I kinda like it that way too."

As the fireworks began to explode, she closed the gap between the once again. She was about to tell him she loved him, but decided she would prefer to show him. The kiss was long and deep and pure and at that moment it felt like they were the only two people in existence…. But only for that moment….. Until they heard the awkward cough of Doctor Reid and turned to see the entire team glaring at them, quickly averting their gaze to the fireworks above. All but Rossi, who approached, giving Derek a pat on the back and a big Rossi smile, "No one was ever going to make her feel that way but you." He whispered in the younger Agent's ear, "You deserve it Derek and I'm really proud of you."

~~CM~~

Emily sat at her desk at Interpol, tapping her fingers as she stared at her screen, blowing air into her cheeks as she waited.

"Oh at last." She almost groaned as Derek sat down at his desk in Quantico and appeared.

"Sorry, I had to take that call. It was Hotch."

"You got a case?"

"Yeah. Briefing in ten minutes."

"Too bad." She smirked.

"What are you smiling at?" He asked, a thin smile forming upon his own lips.

She shook her head, "Nothing."

"Oh I know what it is. You think that means I don't have time for the unveiling."

"Don't say it like that." She scolded, her features scrunching up.

"Come on show me." He grinned, ignoring her protests.

"No." She stated, thin lines appearing on her forehead as she frowned.

"I haven't seen it for a few days now. Let me see." He insisted.

"No." She repeated.

"What do you mean, no?"

She frowned, "I don't want to."

"Emily, I know it's going to be bigger. _And_ I love it."

"You won't when you see it." She said in a sulky tone.

"It's just your tummy."

"Oh no." She said shaking her head and leaning in closer to the screen, "It's not just a tummy. It's a horrible mess. An alien invasion."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

He watched as she pursed her lips and glanced sidewards awkwardly.

"Emily…. just show me."

"Ok. But don't say I didn't warn you."

An inquisitive smirk crept across his lips as he nodded in encouragement.

She gripped the base of her silk blouse and lifted the fabric to expose her rounding belly that had grown considerably over the five weeks she had been back in London.

He stared at her; She had never looked so beautiful to him and he was still having trouble comprehending there was a person inside there which was half of him.

"So?" He heard her say, snapping him out of his trance.

"So what?"

"This. Look at it." She exclaimed, pointed to her protruding belly button.

He chuckled. "Is that what you're sulking about?"

"I'm not sulking." She defended.

"Oh really? Because I haven't seen a pout like that since JJ told Henry he couldn't have anymore cookie dough at Garcia's birthday party."

"Not funny Derek."

"Your belly button is cute."

"Cute!? It's ugly. It's like some little alien creature is trying to get out of there."

"You know, you really need to stop referring to our child as an alien. You do know he or she can hear you right?"

"Don't be silly." She waved away.

"No, it's true." He said reaching to his side, out of sight, "I got this." He told her, revealing a book.

"The mother of all pregnancy books." She read as she squinted at the screen. "Haven't we got enough baby books?"

"Yes, but listen. It says that our baby now has it's eyes open and has eyelashes and eyebrows. And, most importantly, it can hear your voice and heart beat."

"Wow." She uttered, widening her eyes.

"Yeah, pretty amazing right?"

"It can really hear me?"

"Yeah. So quit with the 'alien' references." He smiled with a wink.

She bit her bottom lip, smiled at him coyly and then looked down, laying a hand on her tummy, "Sorry baby." She started, patting her bump, "I promise I won't call you an alien again….. even if you do look like one."

"Emily." Derek scolded, earning a sweet chuckle from the brunette.

"May be that's why he or she keeps kicking me."

"It still doing that?"

"Still doing it? I think we've got a budding soccer player in here." She chuckled.

She looked up to him and watched as his smile faded, "I'm sorry you can't feel it, but I'll be back over there soon."

"Has Clyde said when he can let you go?"

"Well if he has his way, it'll be the day before I'm due, but I've told him I don't want to fly after thirty two weeks."

"So, that's six weeks away."

"Yeah."

"Six weeks too long." He winked.

She smiled warmly, and moved closer to the screen, "I know. I'm sorry." She uttered, "I just need to get stuff sorted here."

"I know. I'm not having a go at you. I just miss you."

"I miss you too." She whispered.

His smile widened and then he quickly glanced down at his watch, "Gotta go baby. I'll call you as soon as I get up tomorrow."

"Ok."

"Text me when you get in."

"I will."

She smiled as he said that to her every time they finished a call. She had once tried to tell that he didn't need to remind her, but he just chuckled and told her she had baby brain so he would always have to remind her. She had never forgotten once.

~~CM~~

Their routine did not change. And that was good for them both as there was no routine in any other part of their lives….. Him not knowing which State he would be waking up in the next day. Her not knowing what turn her current live operation would take today; What decision she would have to make that could make or break it or even put her team members in a life or death situation.

But this routine was good. Her sat at her desk. Him sat at his…..

The conversation had lasted ten minutes or so and he kept getting distracted by the strange faces she was pulling, but every time he asked if there was something up, she'd wave him away…. But it just kept happening;

"Emily. What's wrong?" He asked firmly.

He watched her grimace and begin to exhale labouredly. She shook her head slowly, "I don't know." She uttered.

"I knew there was something wrong."

"It's probably just something I ate." She forced the words out as she huffed.

"That is not indigestion." He stated, his eyes widening as she let out the smallest of yelps, trying to subdue them so as not to worry him. But of course it didn't work.

"Is anyone still there? In the office?" He asked.

She nodded and he could see her face begin to break, "Daniel." She breathed.

"Ok. Call him. Now." He said slowly and firmly.

He watched as she reached over to the phone on her desk and her hand shake as she pressed the speed dial.

"Daniel, can you come here please. Quick."

She dropped the receiver on the desk as another bolt of pain ripped through her stomach.

"Emily. Just breathe. It's gonna be ok." Derek said calmly even though his heart was racing.

Her hand grasped the desk in front of her as the other gripped at her tummy and then Derek heard the other man's voice.

"Emily?" Daniel said, rushing to her side and crouching down at the side of her, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." She stuttered between deep breaths.

"Daniel." Derek called out, grabbing the man's attention. He turned to look at the screen on the desk, initially with confusion, but it quickly disappeared.

"Derek?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah." The profiler responded. "Listen, can you please take her to the hospital."

Daniel nodded, "Of course. Do you know what's wrong?"

Derek shook his head, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Ok." Daniel nodded, turning his attention back to the brunette and placing one hand gently on her back. "Emily." He said softly, "Can you get up for me?"

Her chest heaved and she closed her eyes, "Can you just give me a few seconds. Just let this wave pass."

"Sure." Daniel uttered, turning back to the profiler, "She'll be ok. I'll take care of her." He tried to assure.

Derek nodded, "Can you ring me as soon as you get to the hospital?"

"Of course."

Daniel watched the profiler on the screen. He knew so much about him and had seen his picture, but the two men had never spoken. The strong, capable and charming man that Emily had spoken of, right now look petrified and helpless, but was trying so hard to keep it together.

"Listen." Daniel continued, "Have you got a pen?"

"Yeah." Derek responded.

"Take my number. It's 732-757-2993. Call me whenever you want ok?"

"Ok." Derek uttered after scribbling the number down.

Emily began to attempt to stand, but struggling, she grabbed hold of Daniel's strong arm to steady herself.

"Emily." Derek called to her.

Her eyes shot up to meet his.

"You're gonna be ok and so is the baby alright?"

Her bottom lip began to quiver and her eyes filled with moisture, "Derek I'm scared." She almost cried, her words coarse and broken.

He inhaled, trying to calm himself, not wanting her to see the panic throbbing around his body, "It's ok. Just do as the doctors tell you ok?"

She nodded, "I wish you were here."

"I am here baby." He said, "I promise. I'm not going anywhere. Just call me as soon as you can."

"Ok." She breathed.

"Daniel's gonna take care of you just fine. I'll speak to you in a bit ok?"

She nodded and began to walk away slowly and out of his view. Daniel hung back and leant down to the screen. "It'll be ok. The hospital isn't far. We should be there in fifteen minutes tops."

Derek just stared at the man and Daniel could see the fear in the profiler's face. "Make that ten." He continued, attempting some sort of reassuring smile, "I'll speak to you in a bit." He assured.

Derek nodded and just as Daniel began to move out of view, he called out to him, "Daniel!"

"Yes?" He said, looking back, "Thank you."

"Hey, no problem man."

And the screen went blank and Daniel cut it off before grabbing something off Emily's desk and rushing out after her.

~~CM~~

Twenty minutes later, Derek sat staring at his cell that was in front of him on the desk. He was so consumed he didn't hear the gentle knock on his door from JJ, who was now stood just inside the office.

"Morgan?"

His eyes darted to her and she was taken aback by the horror on his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, quickly closing the gap between them.

"I don't know." He replied, shaking his head, "Something's wrong with Emily. She's on the way to the hospital. I'm just waiting for a phone call."

"Oh my God. What was wrong?"

"She was in a lot of pain JJ. I mean real pain."

"Was there any blood?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"Is anyone with her?"

"Daniel. From her office…."

He halted as his cell rang out.

"Daniel?"

"_Hey Derek. We're at the hospital now."_

"What's happening?"

"_She's in a cubicle, just waiting for the Doctor."_

"Can I speak to her?"

"_I can do one better than that. Are you by your computer?"_

"Yes."

"_Hang on."_

The line went silent for a few long seconds and then his desktop screen began ring out, him hastily answering.

He dropped the cell on the desk and waited until Daniel's face appeared.

"I'll take you to her." He said as he walked along the short corridor, Derek just seeing the edge of a curtain flap open.

Daniel said nothing further and handed the iPad to Emily and Derek's heart broke just a little bit more seeing her frightened face.

"Derek." She cried, his name barely audible.

"Hey baby. You ok?" He asked, cursing himself inside for asking the dumbest question he could possibly ask right now.

She shook her head and her eyes scrunched up as the moisture fell from her eyes, "I think there's something really wrong Derek."

"You don't know that." He said softly, "Has the Doctor been in yet?"

She shook her head.

"Listen I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation."

"Stop saying that. You don't know that." She yelled as the tears streamed down her face.

Lost for words, Derek put his hand to his forehead and rubbed, the pounding behind his eyes getting worse and worse every second.

After a few moments of silence he removed his hand and looked at the screen upon hearing her tiny, broken voice, "I'm sorry."

"Hey don't be sorry. The Doctor will be there soon and then we'll know what's going on."

He felt his eyes begin to sting as the tears welled up watching her break in front of him. She could no longer respond to him….. her shoulders were juddering, her head hanging forward and he could hear her sobs.

"Emily." He said softly, "Pass me back to Daniel."

Without looking at him, she did as he said and the profiler was face to face once again with Emily's team mate.

"Derek."

"Listen. Can you do something for me?" The profiler asked, his tone serious, but so so sad.

"Anything."

"She thinks her worse nightmare's coming true."

Daniel nodded, encouraging Derek to continue.

He swallowed before answering, "Put your arms around her for me….. She needs that right now."

"Of course." He whispered, then placing the screen on the bed, Derek losing view of them both.

Daniel took one step closer to the bed and put one arm around the brunette, pulling her closer to him and then whispered in her ear, "This is from Derek."

She gripped on to his forearm as he wrapped his other arm around her, holding her as she shook, sobbing into his chest.

Derek listened to her and closed his eyes, hating himself for not being there with her.

And as his own tears began to fall, he felt the warm embrace of JJ encircle him.

"She will be ok Morgan." She whispered, "Whatever happens."

~~CM~~

An agonising hour later, Daniel having checked in with Derek every ten minutes to tell him he still knew nothing, finally he appeared on the screen with a somewhat more relaxed face having some news.

"Derek, she's ok and so is the baby."

Derek closed his eyes and exhaled a long sigh of relief, "So what was it?" He asked, opening his eyes to look at the other man.

"I'll let Emily tell you."

The screen blurred from the motion of being passed through the air and eventually her face came in to focus. It was pale and tired, but a far cry from the pained and broken vision before.

"Emily? Are you ok?"

She nodded and a small, sad smile formed upon her lips.

"So what happened?" He asked.

"I went in to labour." She uttered.

"What!" He exclaimed, a similar sentiment leaving JJ's lips who was sat next to him. "But you're only thirty weeks."

"They stopped it."

"They can do that?"

"Yeah, if they catch it early enough."

"And everything's ok now. With you and the baby?"

"Yeah it should be."

"Well the sooner you get here the better."

He watched as she paused and bit down on her bottom lip.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "I can't come back."

"What?"

"I can't fly. There's every chance I will still have this baby early. They won't allow me to fly now."

She watched him place both hands over his mouth and close his eyes. It was as if she could see the disappointment pouring out of him.

"I'm sorry Derek."

His eyes shot open, "You've got nothing to be sorry about. The most important thing is that you and the baby are ok right?"

She nodded with a forced half smile.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there. But I promise you that won't happen again."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I'm coming out there of course."

"But what about work?"

"I don't care." He shrugged, "I'll quit my job if I have to. But you are not going through one more minute of this alone."

**To be continued…**

**Sorry if that seemed rushed…. It took me a while to figure out where to go with this… what do you think?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for all the reviews and support for this story along the way…I have enjoyed writing it, but here is the end. It's a pretty long one! Hope you enjoy **

He watched the buildings whiz by as the black cab wound through the dark streets of London. Rain beat gently on the windows and the lights of the city reflected off the droplets, leaving a golden blur.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes momentarily, in relief, upon seeing the familiar outline of her tall apartment building.

"Thanks buddy." He said as he handed over the notes for his fare and exited the cab.

He glanced at his watch which read 11:34 pm and gave her front door an apologetic knock.

He felt a weight leave him as the door opened and he saw her tired, smiling face.

"Hi." She uttered, holding the edges of her silk robe around her swollen tummy.

"Hey." He smiled, taking a step forward, bending down a little and wrapping his arms around her waist, forgetting the bunch of six white lilies he had in one hand, only to be reminded when one smacked him in the eye.

But she hadn't noticed; She was on tip toes with her arms locked over his shoulders and around the top of his back, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

"You ok?" He asked, turning and gently pecking her cheek.

He felt her nod, but was sure she was not breathing and her grip on him was tightening.

"Emily?" He whispered.

Then he heard her exhale hard and felt her warm breath on his skin; it was tension, and fear, and relief pouring out all in one go.

"Hey." He uttered, stroking her hair, "What's up?"

"I'm just glad you're here." She cried into him, her words broken and so slight.

"Me too." He whispered, "And I'm not leaving you again. You're stuck with me now."

Her body juddered against him as she chuckled, but showed no sign of releasing her grip.

He held her for a few long seconds before pulling his one hand from behind her back and prising their bodies apart slightly, "I got you these."

He smiled seeing her eyes light up, "Pink lilies." She smiled, "Stargazer lilies. I love them."

"I know you do." He whispered as she took them from his grasp, "Let's get them into water and then get you to bed. You look exhausted."

She turned on the spot in the hallway holding the flowers in one hand and gripping his hand in her other, leading him towards the kitchen.

Just few minutes later, she lay in her bed, her eyes heavy as she listened to the soothing sounds of the water flowing from the shower in the en suite bathroom. It stopped, and moments later a wet Derek walked into the darkened room, lightly scattered with moonlight. He dried himself off and slinked under the fluffed up duvet, pressing his body up against her side. She smiled sleepily and raised her forearm, letting it rest by his head, gently stroking his face.

"What?" She asked as she heard him chuckle lightly.

"Your belly." He said, tracing his fingers over the taught, plump flesh that peeped from beneath the white tank top she wore.

"Yes, it's fat. I know." She playfully snarked.

"It's not fat." He said, turning his head to face her, just about being able to see her as his eyes adjusted to the dark. "It's just changed a lot since I last copped a feel."

"Copped a feel?" Her tone higher and mockingly surprised.

He laughed and shifted his body up the bed, bringing his lips in line with hers, "I love it. It's beautiful." He whispered.

Closing the small gap between them, he pressed his lips onto hers and kissed gently. He felt her tongue trace his bottom lip and her mouth opened slightly, allowing her breaths to enter him… teasing him. His tongue invaded her space and their kiss deepened, becoming more wanton. He began to stir as her hands gently slid down his body from his chest, over his ribs and finally rested upon his hip.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and tensed his muscles, pulling her so she rolled onto her side and he let his one hand creep underneath the fabric of her tank top.

She suddenly opened her mouth wide and gasped.

He immediately pulled away, "What?" He asked, panicking, "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head and he watched as her lips curled up at the sides and her eyes smiled at him.

"Here…. Feel." She said, grabbing for his hand, pulling it down from her chest and placing it on her tummy.

She watched his face as he stared at nothing, heightening his sense of touch. "Wow." He breathed, "That is one hell of a kick." He said, looking back to meet her stare with a big smile.

"I think someone wanted to say hello."

"Gees, that's amazing. Does it happen a lot?"

"Lately, yes. I'm pretty sure we've got a budding soccer player in there." She told him, "But press harder. You can sometimes actually feel it's foot."

"Really?" He said, looking back to her stomach.

"Yeah. Go ahead."

He stared at her a shook his head just a little, "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. Here." She placed her hand atop his and massaging her fingers into her skin.

It took a little while, but eventually he felt the little bumps.

"Shit!" He grinned, "That's so weird."

"Hey. Language." She scolded playfully. "It can hear us remember?"

"Oh yeah." He chuckled and then shook his head contemplatively. "I can't believe this is actually happening."

"Hey, it's a bit late for cold feet buddy."

"Cold feet? Are you kidding me?" He said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the sensitive spot at the side of her neck. "By the way." He added, mumbling into her skin as his warm lips danced upon it, "You are incredibly sexy when you're pregnant. Can you just be pregnant all the time?"

She chuckled, throwing her head back to give him easier access, "_This_ turns you on?"

"Yeah." He said a little breathless, moving his head back so he could meet her stare, "Is that weird?"

"May be." She uttered with a raised brow, "But right now, that works for me."

"Really?" He asked in surprise, his eyes widening as he felt her fingertips rousing him.

She nodded, "Hormones." She said quickly before closing the space between them, attacking his mouth with hers and then pushing the tops of his shoulders so he lay on his back.

He smiled up at her, "Someone definitely needs to be pregnant more often." He smirked suggestively, taking her hands in his to assist her balance as she manoeuvred to sit astride him.

~~CM~~

The following morning her eyes shot open hearing the front door slam shut and Derek's muffled cursing.

"_Damn!"_ She head him attempt to say under his breath, but it came out much more forcefully than she guessed he intended.

"Derek?" She called out.

"_It's ok. Stay in bed. I'll be through in a bit."_

"Who was at the door?"

"_No-one. Just go back to sleep."_

She frowned wondering what on earth he was doing, but the warmth of the duvet and her tired mind and body took over her curiosity. She pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes, smiling as she began to doze away.

It felt as though she had only drifted off for a few seconds when she felt his presence in the room and the bed dip as he sat next to her.

"Hey." He whispered, gently running the back of one finger across her forehead.

She slowly opened her eyes and smiled tiredly upon seeing his beaming face.

"What you been up to?" She uttered, her voice croaky and suspicious.

She followed his gaze as he turned his head and reached over to the bedside table.

"Getting you breakfast." He told her picking up a tray with a selection of pastries, fruit, orange juice and coffee on, "I wanted to do something nice." He said, signalling for her to sit up, and then placing the tray on her lap after she sat upright.

"Wow." She chuckled examining the offerings, "Where did you get all this?"

"That little deli down the road." He explained, "The coffee is decaf, the kiwi and melon organic and the croissants and pan au chocolat is…. well is full of stuff that's bad for you, but it's your favourite, so…." He stopped, smiled and then winked.

"Thank you." She said, going to lean forward to give him a kiss, but being prevented from doing so by her tummy hitting the tray.

Derek laughed as her face scrunched up in frustration and then leant forward, balancing on one hand and bringing his lips to hers.

"You're welcome" He breathed in to her.

As he pulled away, she looked into his eyes and smiled, "Sit." She ordered, patting the bed next her, "You can help me with this. There's way too much here for one."

"Thought you'd never ask." He said, jumping up and then crawling on his knees to the other side of the bed.

"So." She began, taking a bite of fresh kiwi, "How long can you stay this time?"

He turned to look at her and raised his brow, "As long as it takes Emily." He told her, "I am not going anywhere without you this time." He stressed with some assurance.

"And Hotch is ok with that?"

He shrugged, "He has to be. I told him if I needed to take unpaid leave, so be it."

"Are you sure?" She asked with worry.

He placed his half eaten croissant back on the tray and shifted his body so he was lay on one side and locked his eyes with hers, "Emily, I am not leaving you alone again. Believe that."

"Derek you do realise the baby is going to be born here?"

"I know." He nodded, "And I'm staying. I'll square things with Hotch."

"And also, babies shouldn't fly for a couple of months."

"Really?" He asked, a worried grimace flashing across his face.

"Yes really."

He smiled, "Looks like I've got some major sweet talking to do then. May be I'll call Rossi to butter Hotch up first."

"Good idea." She chuckled, taking a sip of the orange juice. "Hey. I just thought." She said, placing the glass back down, "Our child is going to be a British citizen you know."

"So it will be…. He or she will have a pretty cool accent." He winked.

She laughed watching him and then let her head fall back against the head board with a contemplative gaze forming.

"You know, we are so not ready for this baby. I have bought no stuff and this apartment is not baby friendly."

"What do we need?"

"Everything. A crib, a pram, clothes..." She shook her head with a small look of panic, "I haven't even thought of any of this."

"Well let's go and sort it then. In fact we can just order it all online. We don't even have to leave the apartment."

"Eh.." She muttered, "I wanna go and look in the shop."

"You're supposed to have bed rest Emily."

"I know, but I'm going stir crazy in here. We can just go out for a couple of hours." She bargained.

"Ok. But we're getting a cab door to door ok?"

"Deal." She smiled.

~~CM~~

Derek motioned through the aisle of the coffee shop, carefully watching the two hot drinks didn't overspill as he carried them. He placed them on the table and glanced at Emily who looked in another world.

"What's up?" He asked, lightly tapping the end of her nose to grab her attention.

"Do you think we got the right buggy?" She said worriedly. "I mean there was like thirty of the things to choose from in that shop."

"I'm pretty sure all of them are absolutely fine. But seeing as we bought probably the most expensive one, I think we're safe."

"You think we spent too much?"

He laughed lightly at her, "Em, for the amount we spent on it, the damn thing should babysit for us, but if it gives you piece of mind, it's fine. Only the best for our little one right?" He winked.

"Right." She uttered, smiling back at him.

She then reached down to the bag at her side and pulled out a pale yellow and white baby grow, with two baby bunnies on the front of it.

"Can you believe we're going to have something this tiny to look after soon?" She said holding the material in front of her and staring at it with a mixture of fear and wonderment.

"No." He said shaking his head slowly, his smiling eyes fading.

"What's up? You look serious all of a sudden." She said.

"Buying all this stuff just made it all seem so real."

She placed a protective hand upon her bump, "You're worried?"

He shook his head, "Not worried about having the baby. I really can't wait, but…."

"But what?" She asked hastily, wanting him to explain faster than he could get his words out.

"We really need to talk about what happens after baby comes don't we?"

"You mean where we're gonna live?"

"Yeah."

"I assumed….." She halted, staring at him a flash of nervousness in her eyes.

"What?" He asked.

She shrugged and shifted awkwardly in her seat, "I thought we'd live with you."

"I'm not sure Emily."

She frowned and swallowed, "You don't want us to live with you?" Her tone meek and sad.

He tutted and shook his head in frustration, "No. Of course I want us to all live together you idiot." He winked with a smile, "I'm just not sure DC is the right place."

"But I thought that's what you wanted."

"So did I, but…"

"But what?" She said, hurrying him.

"I want us to do the right thing for all of us, not just me."

"I don't understand."

"I'm worried that you won't be happy back there."

"It'll be fine." She tried to assure, a little desperation in her voice.

But he didn't respond, instead picking up his hot coffee and moving it to his mouth, spending way too much time sipping it.

"Derek?" She pushed him, seeing the angst in his eyes and his awkward movements.

His eyes met hers, "I'm scared Emily."

"Scared of what?"

"I'm scared I'm not going to be enough for you. I'm scared you're not going to feel settled there like before and that you'll wanna leave." He shook his head, "I don't want you to leave again."

"I won't." She said almost defensively.

"How do you know that? You weren't happy before. Why would it be different now?"

"Derek, it's completely different now. We have the baby. I have you."

"I dunno." He uttered, shaking his head, "May be we should rethink."

"What are you saying?"

"It's just I can see how happy you are here… In London."

"You think we should stay here?" She answered surprised.

He shook his head, "I'm not saying that. But it is an option."

"So what are the other options?"

"A fresh start may be?" He suggested, "And this is just an idea, kinda out of nowhere, but what about Chicago?"

"Chicago?"

"Seeing you with my family, it got me thinking. They really like you and I thought it may help us having them around. The baby would have it's aunts and grandma…. and I'd know that there's someone around for you when I'm not."

She stared at him for a few seconds. This really was coming from left field.

"Is that what you want?" She eventually asked.

He stared at her seriously for a few seconds before leaning across the table and grasping both her hands in his, "Emily, I'll tell you what I want….. I just wanna be where ever you are…. Where ever that is in the world, it's all I need. I just want you to be happy and if Chicago is a stupid idea…."

"It's not." She interrupted, "It's a lovely idea. Your family are wonderful and I'd love for our child to have that kind of love surrounding him or her on a daily basis. I never had anything like that growing up and lord knows we're not going to get it from my family."

He gripped her hands a little tighter and their eyes locked with one another. They remained in silence as a small, warm smile was mirrored on both of their faces. They both knew it at that moment…. They both felt it. They were in this together. What ever happened, would happen with them together.

He was the first to break the silence, "We've got options and we've got time to think about them. No pressure Em." He uttered.

"I know." She whispered.

~~CM~~

A week or so later, Derek shut the door behind him, glad to get in from the freezing air outside that had numbed his face and hands. He quickly carried the big brown bag into the kitchen and placed it on the table.

"Em. Beef in Oyster sauce as requested." He called out as he unpacked the take out boxes from the bag. "They gave us prawn crackers for free on the side!" He added with some excitement.

He stopped what he was doing and listened intently for a response, but none came. He frowned and made for the lounge.

"Emily, where are…" He halted as he walked though the door and saw her on the sofa gripping her side.

He rushed to sit down next to her, "Emily what's wrong?"

She grimaced and looked at him taking deep breaths, "My waters broke." She panted, "And I'm pretty sure these are contractions." She breathed, pointing to her tummy.

"Come on, let's go then." His words rushed and panicked, standing up and holding a hand out to her.

She shook her head and scrunched her face as the pain hit it's peak once again.

"Emily, come on. We have to go." He rushed.

"Derek. Chill."

"Chill?" He spat, "I can't chill."

"You need to time them."

"What?"

"You need to time how long until the next contraction." She told him, panting between each word.

"But…."

"Derek, just time it." She said sharply, struggling to release her words.

"Ok. I'm sorry…"

He sat back down on the sofa next to her and took hold of her one hand, sliding his free hand underneath her shirt and rubbing the base of her back gently.

He watched her intently, breathing in and breathing out. He gripped her hand tight, willing some of her pain to transfer to him but she was in her own world, consumed by the pain. Concentrating so hard on breathing… And he felt so helpless. His heart was beating hard and rapid. He wanted to talk to her, but somehow he knew not to. He knew it would not help and would irritate her, so he just held her hand, rubbed her back, brushed her hair from her face, until eventually she spoke.

"How long?" She asked, glancing toward his watch.

"Eight minutes."

She made her breaths shorter and sharper, "Ok, ring the hospital. Ask them if I should come in yet."

"Ok, who do I ring?"

"My phone." She breathed, her face tensing. "The number's under Doctor Hamilton."

He scrambled for her cell that was sat on the coffee table and clumsily thumbed through her contacts.

"_Doctor Hamilton." _The female voice on the other end of the line answered.

"Yes. Doctor, my name's Derek Morgan. I'm calling on behalf of Emily Prentiss."

"_Oh, Miss Prentiss. Is everything ok?"_

"Yes. I mean no." He stuttered, "I mean I don't know. She's having contractions."

"_Have you timed how far apart they are?"_

"Yes. Eight minutes."

"_Ok. Then you should come in now._

All the colour drained from Derek's face, "You think that baby's coming right now?"

The Doctor could hear the shake and the tension in the man's voice, _"Not right now Derek. Normally we wouldn't tell her to come in until the contractions are five minutes apart, but as she's early and with what happened before, I just want to be a little more careful."_

"Ok Doctor. Thank you. We'll be there soon_."_

"She says we should go in now." Derek said, putting the cell in his pocket and turning to Emily.

She exhaled hard as the pain throbbed just below her belly and nodded in understanding.

"What do I do?" He asked, a hint of lostness in his voice.

"Call a cab."

"Of course." He said shaking his head with a frown, annoyed for not thinking of it himself.

"I'll just get your bag."

Nearly forty five minutes later, Emily sat upright on the hospital bed in a private room, having changed in to the white and pale blue hospital gown.

"Right." The breezy doctor said as she walked into the room, "How are you feeling Emily?" She smiled.

"I'm ok."

"Not you're not." Derek said frowning, "You're in labour."

"Hi. Doctor Hamilton." The middle aged, blond haired woman said, holding out a hand Derek. "We haven't met."

He took her hand and shook. "Sorry doctor. Derek Morgan."

"Don't look so worried Derek."

"But she's so early Doctor."

"Yes." She nodded, "But there's no reason the baby can't come without any problems at 33 weeks. You're in the right place and baby is absolutely capable of surviving at this early stage. I've checked all the previous tests and all looks perfectly fine."

"You think?" He asked, swallowing hard.

"Yes." She assured, then turning to Emily, "So let's have a look."

Derek stood rooted to the spot at the base of the bed watching the Doctor intently as she bent Emily's legs, gently pulled them apart and then placed a sheet like piece of material over her knees. The blond woman then bent down and began to reach between Emily's knees, Derek's eyes widening.

"Err mister." The brunette said, pulling him out of his trance, "Get up here." She directed, holding her hand out to him.

"What?" He queried, looking at her with a frown.

"Away from the business end."

"Emily." He began, stepping towards her, "I wanna watch our child being born when the time comes."

"Really?" She uttered with a grimace.

He glanced at the Doctor and then leant down, "It's not like I haven't seen it before." He whispered.

"Yeah but….."

They both turned hearing the obvious interrupting cough of the Doctor.

"Emily, I'm just going to check how dilated you are. This may feel a little uncomfortable, but I'll be quick. Ok?"

The brunette nodded nervously and glanced at Derek, who gripped her hand attempting a reassuring smile.

He watched as Emily's mouth opened and her eyes widened as the Doctor busied herself under the sheet and he realised what had just happened.

"Ok." Doctor Hamilton said, reappearing from under the sheet, pulling the rubber gloves off her hands, "You're about four centimetres dilated."

"How many should she be?" Derek asked before Emily even had chance to open her mouth to speak.

"Ten." The doctor answered, momentarily turning her back to place the used gloves in the bin, "Your baby's ready to come and meet you very soon." She smiled meeting the couple's gaze once again. "Now when we spoke last, you said you wanted to avoid the epidural Emily. Is that still the case?"

"What does that do?" Derek asked.

"It's pain relief."

He looked down to Emily, "Don't you want pain relief?"

"I'll just have the gas and air. There's the possibility of complications with the epidural."

"Oh I see." He nodded.

"You can change your mind up until a certain point." The Doctor told the brunette, "It's best to see how you go."

"Thank you." Emily replied, suddenly taking a sharp breath.

"Another contraction coming?" Doctor Hamilton asked, checking her watch.

Emily nodded, panting long hard breaths.

"Ok, Derek, can you time how long before the next one and I'll be back with you in a few minutes. There's a nurse outside if you need anything."

"Thank you Doctor." He nodded, immediately turning his attention back to Emily.

"You ok?" He said softly, gently stroking her forehead.

She pressed her lips together, shook her head and he could see moisture starting to form.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm scared." She said, her words broken.

"Hey." He said leaning in closer and grasping her hand, "It's gonna be ok. The doctors here are gonna look after you." But the truth was, he was just as scared as her. May be more.

She looked at him and her face looked as though it was about to break and her breaths were short and sharp, "Don't leave me." She uttered.

"I'm not going anywhere. I wouldn't miss this for the world." He smiled.

"No. I mean ever….. Don't ever leave me. I don't want to do this on my own."

At that moment he felt his heart break a little. He had seen her vulnerable before. He had seen her upset, frightened, scared. He had held her hand when she was dying and she still didn't reach out for him. That time she told him to let her go. But this…. This was different….. The last few months had shown them both that they really needed each other… that they both wanted each other; Something neither of them had ever had the guts to admit to anyone in their pasts. This child had bought out a vulnerability in them both and allowed them to finally admit what had been there all along.

He wrapped his arms around her and gently pressed his lips against her temple, "Emily. I love you." He whispered, "I promise you, where ever you are and whatever happens, I _will_ be there."

He held her tight until he felt her shift and gasp as the next wave of contractions began and over the following couple of hours the contractions came more frequently until it felt like there was no break at all between them.

Doctor Hamilton looked up from the base of the bed once again, "Ok Emily, you're ten centimetres dilated now, I'm gonna get you to start pushing."

Derek looked at Emily as she nodded to the Doctor and his heart began to race. He felt her hand grab for his as she exhaled long hard breaths.

"When the next contraction comes Emily, I need you to push."

She nodded, beginning to take shorter sharper breaths.

"Ahh shit that hurt!" Derek suddenly shouted, his hand being crushed by Emily's as the next wave of pain hit her and she began to push hard. "Gees!" He said grimacing towards her.

Her eyes widened and they looked like they were on fire, "Are you kidding me!" She snarled at him through gritted teeth.

"Sorry." He uttered with guilt, taking a step closer. "Feel free to hit me if you want."

A splutter of a laugh fell from her mouth as she blew hard through the pain. "I don't think that would help." She panted, "But I'll bear it in mind should you complain about the pain in your hand from a little squeeze again."

He smiled, trying to mask the fact that his hand was still throbbing, and fought the urge to tell her that it was not a little squeeze, but felt like the equivalent of his hand being crushed by a pro ultimate fighter. But the throbbing soon flew to the back of his mind as he saw her face scrunch up once again.

"Push Emily." The Doctor encouraged, "This little one is ready to make an appearance."

"Can you see it?" Derek asked, feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves bubbling at the back of his throat, his fingers gripping Emily's even tighter.

"I think the head is just about to make it out."

Emily glanced over to Derek who stood at her side, staring towards the Doctor hanging on her every word. His chest was rising and falling heavily.

She shook his hand a little, "Go." She uttered.

"What?" He said, snapping out of his trance.

"Down the business end." She nodded towards the base of the bed.

He shook his head, "No. I'll stay with you." He said edging closer.

"You wanted to see." She panted. "You can still hold my hand and look."

"You sure?"

She nodded then scrunched her eyes shut and pushed again. He placed his free hand on her back and rubbed, "Breathe Emily. Breathe." He whispered.

"Keep going Emily. We've got a head." The Doctor called.

Derek's eyes widened and he glanced sidewards curiosity building. But his attention was soon back on Emily.

"Push baby." He encouraged, wiping her brow with a damp, cool cloth.

She gave another push then let her head fall back panting with exhaustion. As she rested for a few seconds he took his opportunity to take a couple of steps down the bed and look to where the Doctor's attention was.

"Oh my God." He exclaimed as he stared, "I can see it's head." He almost chuckled in wonder, moving back up the bed back to Emily's side, "It's amazing." He told her.

"Yeah great." She breathed sarcastically, opening her eyes to meet his.

He couldn't help but smile.

"A few more pushes and we'll be there." The Doctor told Emily.

The next few minutes Derek rushed from one end of the bed to the other as Emily pushed and breathed and growled and swore at him. The curses falling from her mouth mainly flew over his head, but he did smile at a few which led to a further torrent from her.

"Here we go Emily. One more push." The Doctor encouraged.

Derek hopped back to her side, "One more baby. One more. I can see nearly all of the baby. It's right there."

She clenched her teeth and tensed every muscle in her body, giving everything into her final push.

Derek remained gripping her hand, watching the Doctor intently and a few seconds later, a smile crept across his lips as he watched a tiny figure appear in her arms. She cradled the child, checking for something that he could not quite see.

"Derek?" He heard Emily whisper.

He looked at her and could see the fear in her face.

"It's ok. She's just…."

But before he could finish, tiny squawking screams could be heard and he watched Emily's face change. He saw a tired smile creep across her face and her take all her strength to reach out her arms. Within a couple of seconds, the doctor placed the tiny, squealing form onto to Emily's chest.

"Congratulations Emily and Derek. You have a little girl."

The new parents both remained silent, staring, stunned at the little bundle of flesh that was now theirs.

Derek watched as Emily tentatively placed a tender hand upon the baby girl's back and he smiled. It was the most incredible sight he had ever seen and Emily had never looked so beautiful.

She sensed his stare and looked to him, beckoning him close with a nod of the head. He shuffled forward and leaned over, running a finger over the clammy flesh of his daughter's face.

"She's amazing Emily."

"I know. I.…."

"Sorry to interrupt." The Doctor said softly, standing on the opposite side of the bed to Derek. "But we should take her now."

"Do you think there's something wrong?" Emily asked with haste.

Doctor Hamilton smiled warmly, "I can see nothing that would alarm me, but she will need to go to the neonatal care unit for monitoring because she's early. It's standard procedure."

"You have to take her away now?" Emily said, a sadness in her tone.

"I'm afraid so, but once we've done some tests, you can come and be with her." Doctor Hamilton said assuringly before turning to Derek, "Does daddy want to cut the chord before we go?"

Emily looked from the Doctor to Derek and watched him take the scissors. The Doctor clamped the chord and indicated the spot for him to cut. Emily saw him swallow and hesitate, then she looked to his hand that was shaking. She reached over and placed a gentle touch to his wrist. "It's ok." She whispered.

Her hand remained on him as he leant over and cut the chord. Not a couple of seconds later, the baby was whisked from Emily's embrace and disappeared out of sight.

Derek's gazed remained on the door that his daughter had just been taken out of until he heard a little sniffle. He turned to see Emily rub the moisture from her eyes.

"Hey." He whispered, wrapping his arms around her, "She's gonna be fine."

"I know." She uttered, her words breaking, "I just miss her already."

He closed his eyes and smiled into her dark hair, "Me too….."

~~CM~~

"I can walk." She argued as Derek stood at the side of her bed with a wheelchair.

"You're not walking." He told her, "Get in the chair." He smiled defiantly.

"I don't need it." She grumbled, slowly swinging her legs to the side of the bed and placing her feet on the floor. As soon as she stood off the bed, she felt her legs turn to jelly and a sharp pain from the soreness.

He saw the look in her face, but remained silent. This was not the time for 'I told you so's'. He just let her lower herself into the chair without saying a word to him.

He wheeled her along the corridor and the nurse that they were following, held open a door indicating for them to enter.

As they did, simultaneously they both took a sharp intake of breath upon seeing the wires and tubes hooked up to their tiny baby.

"What's wrong? Why is she like that?" Emily asked desperately.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, "Nothing's wrong." The nurse told her, "We're just monitoring her. Because she's premature, we have to make sure she can breathe and function alone before you can take her home."

"How long do you think that will be?" Derek asked.

"Could be anything from a few days to a couple of weeks. Depends on how strong this little one is and if she's feeding ok. She really needs to be able to function as if she were born at full term."

"Weeks?" Derek said in surprise.

"Maybe." The nurse smiled

"Sorry." Derek uttered, "Just wanna get my girls home you know."

"Of course." The nurse said in understanding. "And just so you know, she weighs four pounds and two ounces."

"That's low isn't it?" Derek said with concern.

"Not for a baby born at this stage. It's a good weight… Now, I'll leave you two alone for a bit. I'll be back soon and we can try feeding ok?"

Emily nodded, but swallowed with nerves. She had completely forgotten that her child would need to fed…. By her.

As the door gently shut, Derek walked to Emily's side, crouched down and took hold of her hand, "You ok?" He asked, watching her staring at the baby.

"Yeah." She smiled glancing up to him. "She looks so tiny."

He nodded and then turned his attention to his daughter. She lay on her back, eyes shut tight, with light golden brown skin and tiny tufts of dark black hair just peaking through her scalp. He couldn't tell who she looked like just yet, but he knew she was the beautiful thing he had ever seen. He reached into the crib and placed one big finger into the palm of her tiny hand and her fingers instinctively wrapped around his. He stood and stared at her tiny frame and her perfect facial features surrounded by the frightening wires and tubes.

He was distracted a few seconds later feeling a tug on his hand that was in Emily's.

"Derek." She said softly, looking up at him.

"What?"

She released his grip and placed both arms on the sides of the chair, pushing herself up.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Shhh." She hushed, holding his arms for support. She stood in front of him and raised her hand to his face, and gently wiped away the tears that were falling…. He hadn't even noticed.

She kissed his cheek and then wrapped her arms around him, "We got there." She whispered. "Thank you for helping me to make her. I love you."

He nestled his face into the crook of her neck and held on to her tight. "Thank _you_." He uttered, "This is honestly the best day of my life."

He wasn't worried when she didn't answer. He just continued to hold her, knowing her tears were flowing as she felt exhausted, excited, happy and scared all in one go.

"I just thought." He said rubbing her back, "We haven't even talked about names."

She pulled out of his embrace and stood aside him, holding his hand, staring at the child.

"No we haven't." She agreed.

He smiled and looked at her, "Come on then."

"Come on what?" She asked, glancing at him with confusion.

"I bet you've had baby names figured out since you were like twelve or something." He chuckled. "All girls do."

"You should know by now Derek Morgan, I'm not like most girls."

"Very true." He conceded. "But out with it. What's yours?"

She gave him her trade mark Emily Prentiss unimpressed glare, before it was betrayed with a smirk.

"Come on." He encouraged.

"We're supposed to pick the name together." She protested.

"Just try me. If I don't like it, I'll say."

"Ok." She sighed, "I've always liked the name Alexis."

"Alexis?" He said, turning to look back to the child and studying her.

Emily broke the silence a few seconds later, "You don't like it?"

He turned to meet her gaze with a smile, "I love it. She definitely looks like an Alexis. Alexis Morgan it is then….. I mean." He stuttered, "Assuming she is going to be a Morgan?" He chuckled nervously.

Emily smiled watching her child sleep soundly. "She is definitely a Morgan." She said softly. She let her heavy head rest upon Derek's shoulder and he snaked his arm around her back, both staring at the little girl they had created… together.

And so their new life began. Right at that moment, they both knew it didn't matter where on earth in the world they ended up; all they ever needed and wanted was right there with them, right now….

They _had_ won this battle; Both of them had finally allowed someone in to share their life completely…. Someone they could cry with and not feel weak. Someone they could laugh with and not feel silly. Someone they could be vulnerable in front of and know they would love them just a little bit more for it. Someone whose strength would make the other feel proud, not threatened. Someone they could share the ups and downs with and know they'd both be there at the end of it regardless of how rocky it became…. For every hurdle, they would nurture the best out of each other to get over it…. together.

They _would_ win this fight….. together.

~~The end~~

**AN: So I hope you enjoyed the end and it wasn't too rushed…. I was going to write an epilogue of where they ended up living, but I thought may be you would like to decide. **

**I thought Chicago would be nice as they'd have his family there for Emily and she never had that kind of thing growing up. Although they would have their BAU family in DC, I think Derek would be happier knowing someone was there for her whilst he was working (obviously the BAU would be working at the same time as him). I could see him getting a job easily running an office in the local Police Department.**

**But of course, may be DC would be fun as she'd have JJ and Garcia to share baby stuff with and the rest of the 'family' around.**

**Or may be London? She loves her job and Derek could look after baby. **

**Let me know your preference….. I think I can guess what the majority would want… and I think you can probably guess mine ;)**


End file.
